Hiccup's Journey
by FantasyWriter345
Summary: Hiccup is tired of living in Berk. So he and Toothless decide to leave to go on a journey of discovery. Along the way, they find new lands, make new friends, discover dragons, and fight enemies. This not a HiccStrid pairing fanfiction. All movies and shows belong to their rightful owners. But OCs belong to me.
1. Leaving

Chapter 1: Leaving!

"LEAVING! We're leaving. Let's pack up. Looks like you and me are taking a little vacation...forever." Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III declared when he entered the cove while carrying a basket full of necessities: tools from the forge, clothes, boots, fur vests, sticks of coal for his journals, and drawings of Toothless and blue prints of his tail. He put his basket down near a boulder and opened it to make sure that he had everything for his trip. The elder of his village, Berk, had announced that he would be the one to kill a dragon known as the Monstrous Nightmare. It was considered an honor to anyone in his dragon training class to kill this dragon. However, Hiccup didn't want to kill the dragon. Ever since he befriended Toothless, a dragon known as the night fury, he knew that dragons weren't evil mindless creatures that needed to be killed. They were kind, intelligent, and as loyal as any other animal. He couldn't find himself to kill a creature that had the right to live as much as he did. Suddenly he heard a twig snapped and turned around to see a black winged reptile tackle him and began licking him.

"Toothless, knock it off! You know that doesn't wash out!" Hiccup chuckled as he tried to push Toothless off of him. Toothless sat up as Hiccup got up from the ground and flicking the remaining slobber from his clothes. "Bud, how would you like to get out of here?"

Toothless tilted his head at the question. He knew that this was Hiccup's home and it's where the two had met. He couldn't understand why he would want to leave his home.

"I'm tired of living here, Toothless. No one really cares about me! They only respect me because I was getting so good in training!" Hiccup ranted, "I want to travel, see new places, meet new people, and discover new dragons! Maybe we'll find more night furies!"

Toothless gurgled and wagged his tail with excitement. He always wanted to find more night furies. But more importantly, to travel with his best friend, Hiccup.

"So you in?" Hiccup asked, smiled. Toothless's answer was his gummy smile which earned his name "Toothless". "Alright then, let's get going."

Hiccup picked up his basket and tied it to the back of Toothless's saddle. Then he got settled onto the saddle and the two went up into the sky and flew away from Berk. He was excited for this journey. He wondered what kinds of lands are out there. Not to mention the many cultures as well. But he also wanted to find new dragons. He hoped that he'll be able to find more of Toothless's kind. The only thing he hoped that he wouldn't get into any trouble wherever he went. Well, they'll just see. As long as he had Toothless with him, they would be fine. He looked over his shoulder and gazed back at the island he once thought was 'home'.

"So long, Berk." Hiccup said. The hateful and cold stares of the villagers, his father's disappointed scowl, and his hopeless crush with Astrid would all be left behind him now. They would no longer matter to him. They would just be part of his past that he wanted to forget. But the one thing he would never forget would be Gobber's kindness and guidance. The one legged and one armed blacksmith in Berk. The only one who ever paid any attention to him. To Hiccup's point of view, Gobber was more of a father to him than his own father was. He made sure to leave a letter for Gobber before he left. Gobber should at least know that Hiccup viewed him as a father figure. Once the island was out of sight, Hiccup turned around and looked towards the horizon. His journey of discovery had just begun.

* * *

Meanwhile, Astrid Hofferson was trying to find Hiccup. She was infuriated at Hiccup who got the honor to kill the Monstrous Nightmare. She should have gotten the honor. But no...the useless runt of the village gets it! His rising level in dragon training made her very suspicious of him. She knew that someone couldn't get good overnight. She suspected that he was hiding something and she was going to find out!

After finally finding a trail of Hiccup's footsteps, it lead her to a cove. She had to admit that it was a beautiful cove. But she wondered what Hiccup was doing in this place. She climbed down the rocks and saw a shield wedged between two rocks.

"What's that doing there?" Astrid asked, brow arched. So she went underneath the shield and entered the cove. Then she found more of Hiccup's footsteps, but then she noticed another pair of footsteps. They were bigger than Hiccup's. _Way _bigger. She spotted a few black scales next to the big footprint. It was then she recognized the footprints and the scales: a dragon! She wondered what Hiccup was doing down in the cove with a dragon. She also saw a few scorch marks as well. A glimmer of light caught her attention and looked towards the source and saw a shiny object in the lake. She went to the lake and pulled out the object: a dagger with Hiccup's initials on it!

'Was he fighting a dragon?' Astrid thought with dread. She knew that Hiccup didn't stand a chance with a dragon without a weapon of some sort. Then she realized that Hiccup was nowhere in sight and there were scales, scorches, and footprints of a dragon all over the place. That could only mean one thing: Hiccup was taken by the dragon!

Astrid turned and ran out of the cove and sprinted towards the village as fast as her feet could take her.

* * *

"I'm amazed that he was able to defeat that gronckle, Gobber." Stoick said before he took a gulp of his mead.

"Me too. The first time he went against it, he was terrified of it." Gobber commented.

"Indeed." Stoick agreed. He remember his days as a recruit for dragon training. Some of them were scared of encountering a dragon for the first time. But Stoick and Gobber weren't. In fact, they were excited to go against the evil minded reptiles.

'Ah, the good old days.' Stoick thought with nostalgia. At that moment, someone burst through the doors, which caught everyone's attention. Vikings were moving to the side while someone was trying to pass by them. The person soon arrived in front of the crowd: Astrid. She was panting as she bent down at the waist and placed her hands on her thighs as she was catching her breath.

"Astrid, what's wrong?" Stoick asked. Astrid stood up straight when she was able to breathe.

"Hiccup...he's...gone." Astrid breathed out.

"What?" Stoick questioned with wide eyes.

"He was taken...by a dragon." Astrid answered.

"Are you sure, Astrid?" Stoick asked. Astrid nodded as she pulled out Hiccup's dagger and the black dragon scales she found. Stoick's blood froze at the sight of the scales. He hadn't seen those kind of scales before, but he knew one thing: they weren't from any other of the dragons they have seen so far. He quickly stood up and stared at all of the vikings in the room. "Search the island! We won't rest until we've found my son!"

* * *

After hours of searching, it was declared that Hiccup was indeed taken by a dragon. But Stoick wanted to know what the dragon was. He never thought that his son would be captured by a dragon. It felt like another one of his family was taken from him. Just like his beloved wife, Valka, who was captured by a large four winged dragon when his son was an infant. She hadn't been found which lead to the conclusion that the dragon had eaten her. The sound of approaching footsteps brought him out of his thoughts. He looked over his shoulders and saw Fishlegs running up to him. He stepped up to him and bent down at his waist as he placed his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

"Fishlegs, what is it?" Stoick asked, turning to the young lad.

"Chief, I have some information about the dragon." Fishlegs said, once he was able to control his breathing.

"What kind of dragon is it?" Stoick questioned.

"I checked through the _entire _Dragon Manual and there wasn't any dragon that matched the scale." Fishlegs explained.

That got Stoick's attention. They had no information about the owner to the black scales. That confused him. He was sure that they had all of the information about the dragons they've ever encountered. He wondered what kind of dragon wouldn't be found in the Dragon Manual.

"But I have a good guess what kind of dragon it is." Fishlegs continued.

"What kind?" Stoick asked.

"Night fury." Fishlegs concluded.

Stoick breathing hitched at that moment. A night fury was known as the offspring of lightning and death itself. 'Never engage this dragon. Hide and pray that it does not find you' was the warning that was written in the Dragon Manual. His ultimate guess was that Hiccup must have encountered the dragon and it flew off with him in his claws. He could easily imagine how helpless Hiccup was probably feeling when he was taken. Stoick clenched his fists until they turned white. He knew what he had to do when he would find that night fury: slay it.

* * *

Gobber walked into the forge and sat down in a chair near the fire. It had nearly been a day since Hiccup had vanished into thin air. He didn't know why he would though. The boy was finally getting the honor that he deserved. Even though Astrid wanted to kill him right then and there if there was no one around. He was pretty sure that the girl will hold that against him. He sighed as he pinched his nose. Then he stood up and walked into Hiccup's work room. Gobber provided this room for Hiccup whenever he wanted to be alone. When he entered, he was shocked to see that all of Hiccup's drawings were gone. But he noticed a letter on Hiccup's desk, he went over to it and saw his name on it. So he sat down in his chair and opened the letter.

_Dear Gobber,_

_If you're reading this, then that probably means that I already left Berk. I don't think I can bare living on this island anymore. True it may have been my home for fourteen years, but it never really felt like a real home. I have no mother, my father was always disappointed in me, and the villagers hated me. However, you were the only one who ever treated me like family. To me, you were like a father. One that I wished I had. _

_When it came to dragon training, I wasn't really killing them. I learned how to subdue them because of my friend who I had been hiding for some time now. I know you probably won't believe me, but I really did take down a night fury and did the most craziest thing you didn't expect. I befriended the dragon. Let's just say that the both of us became good friends. Whatever I learned from him, I used it on the dragons in the ring. To be most precise, I can't kill the Monstrous Nightmare. I don't really have the guts to even kill a dragon. Perhaps, I'm not meant to. But I really don't mind it at all. So please give the honor to Astrid. I can tell that she wanted to be the one to have it._

_I know you're wondering why I'm doing this, but I can't risk my dragon's safety. If he's ever exposed, then my father won't hesitate to kill him and I don't want that to happen. So this is my goodbye. _

_Sign,_

_Hiccup_

Gobber was shocked at this. He couldn't believe that Hiccup had befriended a night fury. That kind of dragon is known to be the most fiercest and most dangerous dragon out of all dragons. But… if Hiccup was able to befriend this dragon, … perhaps it will keep him safe. Gobber sighed and looked up at the morning sky. He had a good feeling that Hiccup will be okay. Maybe, just maybe, he might seem him again… one day.

* * *

"_The person who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The person who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever seen before."_

– Albert Einstein


	2. The Fall of Red Death

Chapter 2: The Fall of Red Death

A/N:

'**Dragons'** \- Dragonese

* * *

It had been about a month since Hiccup and Toothless had left the island of Berk. They were currently occupying a island that would take a least a week to get to by boat. But on a dragon, it would only take an hour or two. During that time, Hiccup would just fish and go hunting with Toothless who was helping him getting muscle strength in order to carry the game they would catch and how to defend himself. Hiccup was surprised that his night fury friend knew that kind of stuff. Whenever the two were taking a break, Toothless was teaching Hiccup dragonese. Hiccup was glad he was able to or else he would have a difficult time understanding Toothless. However, one day, something happened. Something that would change the world...forever.

Hiccup was finished with his exercise which was to carry the dead boar he managed to kill on his own. Luckily he made it back to the cave that he and Toothless were taking residence in. They had all of the food they needed before the big cold would come soon. Hiccup let out a sigh of relief when he brought the dead boar into the cave and placed it on the floor.

"Well, there's another boar for tonight." Hiccup announced.

"**What about fish**_?_" Toothless questioned.

"Don't worry, we'll fish before we go for our flight." Hiccup promised.

"**Good, I don't want to fly on a empty stomach**." Toothless said.

"You never want to go _anywhere_ on a empty stomach." Hiccup said, jokingly. Toothless grunted in embarrassment.

Later on, after Hiccup had done his fishing and gave all of the fish to Toothless and took off to the skies. Flying with his dragon friend was what Hiccup liked doing. He felt free, no one could tie him down. The thoughts of his bad memories of Berk would just vanish as soon as they reach the clouds. He wanted to stay in the skies forever. Suddenly Toothless perked up and swerved to the right, which knocked Hiccup out of his thoughts.

"Toothless, what are you doing?" Hiccup asked. But he noticed that Toothless didn't seem to respond to him. His eyes turned to thin slits and his ears perked and twitched. He looked up ahead and saw a huge fog. It was Helheim's gate, where the dragon's nest is suppose to be. Whoever goes into the fog, never comes back alive. Suddenly a Monstrous Nightmare appeared from his right and flew beside the young viking and the night fury. Soon other dragons began to appear all around the two, ignoring them as they were flying towards something. Hiccup noticed that all of the dragons were carrying big amounts of foods in their claws.

"It looks like they're hauling in their kill." Hiccup muttered when he spotted a Zippleback carrying a dead yak in its claws. The Zippleback caught his staring and narrowed their eyes at him.

They soon reached a tall hideous-looking island, with a giant, slightly red-glowing rock that seemed to grow up from the ground. Toothless easily maneuvered between the rocks and tunnels. Then the tunnels finally led to a ginormous hole in the volcano. Fog engulfed the hole, concealing whatever was in it. Hiccup noticed that the dragons seemed to be dumping all their caught prey down the opening, which confused him.

"They're not eating any of it." Hiccup gasped. Stealthy, Toothless managed to hide behind a boulder, out of view from whatever might spot them. Then he spotted a Gronckle flying towards the middle of the hole. The chunky dragon parted its jaws, letting a small regurgitated fish slide from its tongue. It felt into the depths below as the Gronckle carelessly scratched its ear with its a hind leg. An angry monstrous roar rang out, startling Hiccup and Toothless. The Gronckle froze at the roar. It whimpered and started to fly away. Suddenly A ginormous dragon head, larger than three Monstrous Nightmares, shot up from the gaping hole of the volcano, opened its horrible jaws, and closed them on the Gronkle, swallowing him whole and retreated back into its hiding spot. Hiccup gasped at the size of the creature. Cries and roars came from everywhere as all the rest of the dragons who quickly went into hiding behind the rocks. Hiccup never thought there would a dragon that big in all of existence.

"So that dragon…is the reason behind all of the raids?" Hiccup questioned himself.

It would make sense since that dragon was larger than the other dragons he had read about. But why would they feed this humongous dragon? Was this dragon the queen of the nest? Is this what the creature had been doing for the past 300 years? Making all of these dragons get food for her when she was too lazy to get it herself? Hiccup couldn't help but pity these creatures that are forced against their will to receive food for her in order to prevent themselves of getting eaten by her.

Then the incredibly large dragon perked up, head suddenly sneaking back out from the fog. It was sniffing. Hiccup knew that the dragon must have caught his scent which made her realize that a human was in the nest. Hiccup and Toothless froze when the dragon caught sight of them.

"Come on, bud, we gotta get out of here!" Hiccup whispered as he placed his hand on Toothless's cheek. Somehow that caught the giant dragon's attention. Without any hesitation, Toothless leaped out of their hiding spot just before the giant dragon could grabbed them with her teeth and flew out of the volcano with a huge group of dragons behind them. Once the two were out of the volcano, they stared at it for a while. They didn't want those dragons to keep stealing food for that tyrannical queen dragon. At that moment, Hiccup found a good name for it: Red Death. He knew that he and Toothless had to stop her before anymore dragons and vikings get killed.

"Toothless, we have to stop her!" Hiccup declared.

"**WHAT?! Are you insane, Hiccup?! It's suicide to go after her!**" Toothless panicked.

"I know, but…we have to or else she'll devour more dragons in that nest and threaten them to steal food from vikings for the next hundred years." Hiccup reasoned.

Toothless felt the same as Hiccup. More and more dragons are getting eaten from not bringing enough food or are getting killed by vikings. If Red Death continues to live, both species would soon die out. Most of his kind had been killed by that dragon and he didn't want to lose his rider to it as well. Perhaps Hiccup was right, they had to stop Red Death.

"**Then… let's go!**" Toothless roared. Hiccup smiled at his friend's words and directed him towards the top of the volcano.

"Okay bud, time for a wake up call." Hiccup ordered. Toothless nodded and aimed his plasma blast in the center of the volcano. A few seconds later, a loud and bone chilling roar echoed from inside of the volcano. The two heard rumbles coming from it and then saw a hole forming from the side of it. Then the head, neck, and the entire body of the mountain sized creature appeared as she came out of the volcano and stood on her four legs on the beach next to it. She roared once more, trying to detect when the human and the night fury were.

When Hiccup saw its humongous size, Hiccup had figured out the two advantages against Red Death: Toothless's stealth and aiming at Red Death's weak point: its ragged looking wings. It would help them win against this giant dragon.

"Let's see if it can use them!" Hiccup yelled as Toothless rounded into a dive and drew in close, the wind whipped over them in the screech that proceed his attack. They dove fast and hard, then right as they got close Toothless used the momentum to unleash a powerful blast of fire. He aimed it right at the collar of the huge dragon which sent it to the ground.

"You think that did it?" Hiccup turned on the saddle to see Red Death flying behind them in the fog, "Well she can fly."

"**Yeah, but can she keep up?**" Toothless challenged. Hiccup directed Toothless towards the water, leveling out as they approached the sea stacks. They easily went through and around them as if they were trees. Red Death kept trying to snap them into her jaws, but they kept turning the other way to get out of her reach. But then she simply smashed through them. Hiccup knew that he and Toothless had to think of a new strategy. He looked up and saw the dark grey clouds in the sky. Some were actually black amongst the grey ones. That's when he figured it out.

"Okay, Toothless, time to disappear!" Hiccup called, locking gazes with Toothless who snorted to confirm that he agreed with Hiccup's idea. He clicked the pedal once more and Toothless made a steep climb upward towards the clouds. "Come on, bud!"

Red Death soon followed after the two as they flew higher and higher into the sky. She was determined to end these two annoying pests.

"Here it comes!" Hiccup warned, hearing the hissing of gases in Red Death's mouth. The two swerved out of the way just as Red Death fired another column of flame, dissolving into smoke; she spun and brushed the thick clumps of smoke away with her wings as she chased after the duo. By the time the dragon caught up with them, they already disappeared into the dark clouds. It growled lowly, snapping its head in every direction. At that moment, a plasma blast hit her left wing and Toothless disappeared from her sight. Then another hit her right wing and soon enough more shots hit her wings. Growing frustrated at the elusive enemy the giant dragon let loose a torrent of fire in all directions. Seeing the advancing wave of fire coming toward them, Hiccup shouted to Toothless, "Watch out!" Before he could shift the pedals, the tail fin was on fire.

"Okay, time's up. Let's see if this works!" Hiccup prayed. With an adjustment of the tailfin Toothless turned around and dove towards the giant dragon.

"Come on, that the best you can do?!" Hiccup yelled.

"**You call yourself an alpha?!**" Toothless roared tauntingly.

The dragon saw them and tried to crush them in it jaws. But the small dragon did a loop in the air, just avoiding death. Then it went into a dive and the giant dragon went after them, determined to finish them off. Hiccup clicked the tail but it barely reacted,

"Stay with me bud, we're good," Hiccup said, Toothless' eyes were wide with panic, "Just a little bit longer."

Down and down they dived as Red Death inched ever closer, bit by bit, narrowing her eyes as she closed in on the pair. Hiccup was waiting for the right moment to strike at the giant dragon.

"Hold Toothless," Finally he heard the giant take a breath as it was preparing to lose its fire on them, "NOW!" Hiccup shouted to Toothless.

At his rider's command, Toothless flipped over so that he was diving with his back toward the ground. Then he unleashed his last bolt of fire into the giant dragon's mouth igniting the gas at the back of her throat. Facing forward once again he saw the ground coming up toward them as they cleared the cover of the clouds. Opening his wings they caught the air and lifted him up and passed the giant dragon. Seeing the ground the giant dragon opened its wings to stop it fall, but the holes shot in its wings gave as the air rushed past them. With giant holes in its wings the giant dragon could only roar as it helplessly rushed toward the ground. Finally impacting the giants body ignited as its own fire burned it from the inside out.

On Toothless Hiccup could feel the heat of the fireball as he and Toothless raced between the dragon's massive spikes as they attempted to get clear. However the leather on the prosthetic came off and fell back into the flames behind them. Then Hiccup spotted Red Death's club tail coming towards them, but they couldn't move out of the way in time.

"No! NO!" Hiccup yelled before he and Toothless banged into the tail and was ripped off of Toothless's saddle.

"**HICCUP!**" Toothless roared with wide eyes as Hiccup began falling. Toothless made a quick u-turn and dove into the flames after Hiccup.

* * *

The sound of wings flapping echoed through the air as a four winged dragon and its masked mysterious rider headed towards Helheim's gate, the nest of the dragons. The rider was curious of what had happened to the island when she noticed a nestful of dragons leaving it. As the two got closer, they saw ashes falling all around them as the dragon landed on the shore and its rider jumped off its back.

"What happened here?" A feminine voice asked as she looked at her surroundings. She saw the burnt corpse of the dragon queen. It was no doubt that the dragons had finally broke free of the dragon queen. But… who defeated the queen? She soon spotted a black shape not to far from her. Curiosity getting the best of her, she decided to see what it was. When she got closer, she couldn't help but gasp at what the black shape was: a dragon! Not just any dragon, a night fury! She never thought that she would ever see one up close. Then she noticed a saddle on the night fury's back. She wondered what it was doing with a saddle until she looked along its tail and saw that it only had a prosthetic tail fin.

"Who did that to you?" The female questioned. The sound of her voice seemed to have awoken the night fury when she saw that it was opening its green emerald eyes as it groaned. When he saw her, his pupils turned to slits and he growled at her while tightening his grip on Hiccup who was hidden under his wings. The woman took notice that the night fury was holding a person close to him. The only thing she could see was that the person was a boy who had auburn hair and was possibly unconscious. She knew that the dragon wouldn't let anyone try to take the person away from him without a fight. So she gently tried to console the dragon as she took off her mask.

"You have to let me take him. He might need treatment." The woman reasoned. But the night fury only growled at her as a response. So she tried another approach. "I won't be able to help him if you don't let me."

Even though Toothless didn't trust humans, he had no other choice but to let the female take his rider. Releasing his grip on Hiccup, the woman step reached out and gently grabbed the boy from his grasp. She easily spotted the small cuts on his face and that the lower part of his left leg was damaged beyond repair. Then she noticed the scar on Hiccup's chin. She gasped when she realized who this boy was. She couldn't believe it. The boy in her arms was her son, Hiccup. She had so many questions, but she knew she had to wait when she saw his left leg was heavily injured.

"Oh Hiccup." The woman gasped. The night fury whined in guilt of Hiccup's injury. "Don't worry, we'll help him."

The woman carefully carried Hiccup into her arms and hopped onto her dragon. The dragon slowly lifted off the ground and hovered over Toothless. He gently grabbed the night fury in its talons and lifted him off the ground. Then the dragon and the female rider left the island and flew off to help the night fury's rider.

* * *

_Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible._

\- Francis of Assisi


	3. Unexpected Reunion

Chapter 3: Unexpected Reunion

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

Hiccup could hear a muffled voice that was near him. It seemed to be a female voice.

"Don't worry, he'll wake up soon, night fury." The female voice said. He heard Toothless's crooning and footsteps that were fading away. He wanted to open his eyes but they felt too heavy for him to open. Soon enough he went unconscious again.

He didn't know how long he had slept, but he was able to open his eyes once more. He slowly sat up and found himself in a room he didn't recognize. It was a cave, converted into a house, complete with hearth, table, and a bed, but no one was home. He noticed the bandages wrapped around his waist as he placed his hand on them. Whoever found him must have helped him with his injuries. But who helped him? Then heard a warble sound next to him and he sat face to face with his night fury friend.

"**Hiccup!**"

"Toothless!" Hiccup shouted with a smile. Toothless gave him a wide gummy smile and warbled as he pressed himself against Hiccup who wrapped his arms around his neck. He had been so worried about his rider, "It's great to see you too, bud. Sorry I worried you."

"Good to see you awake."

Hiccup and Toothless turned towards the female voice. He saw a woman with medium brown hair, and green eyes. She looked to be in her late 40's, early 50's. For some strange, she looked familiar to him. Has he seen her from somewhere before? Then he noticed a large dragon behind her as well. It had woody brown scales, cream underbelly and iridescent blue highlights. Its face has two long spines that branch off his nose and to the side with a "smashed" face, much like an owl's. He spotted two scars on its facial spines. What kind of dragon was that?

"Wh-Who are you?" Hiccup questioned nervously.

"My name is Valka and this is Cloud Jumper." 'Valka' answered as she pet Cloud Jumper's neck who purred at her touch.

"What kind of dragon is he?" Hiccup asked.

"A Stormcutter." Valka answered.

"Wow/**Wow**." Hiccup and Toothless were amazed at meeting a new kind of dragon.

"By the way, you haven't told me your name." Valka inquired.

"Sorry. My name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third." Hiccup said and turned to Toothless, "And this is Toothless."

"Toothless? I say it fits him since retractable teeth is an interesting trait." Valka said as she petted Toothless's snout who purred at the attention he was getting from the woman.

Hiccup was confused at that moment. How did this woman know that Toothless had retractable teeth? How was he so comfortable with her?

"By the way, where am I?" Hiccup asked.

"The Dragon Sanctuary." Valka replied.

"Dragon Sanctuary?" Hiccup asked.

"This is where all of the dragons I have rescued can stay safe and be protected." Valka answered.

"Wow," Hiccup awed, "Can I come see it?"

"Are you sure you have the energy?" Valka asked.

"I think I can handle it." Hiccup reassured her.

At his words, Toothless came to his side as Hiccup removed the fur blanket that covered the bottom half of him. His breathing hitched at what his saw: his left shin…was gone. In its place was a wooden stump which was similar to Gobber's.

"How-How did that happen?" Hiccup stuttered. Valka sighed. She had a feeling that Hiccup would probably have a hard time adjusting to his new leg.

"Your leg was heavily damaged when I found you and Toothless. I'm afraid that it couldn't be saved." Valka explained.

"I see." Hiccup confirmed.

He never thought he would lose his left shin in the battle with Red Death. Now he was a little like his blacksmith teacher. Gobber would probably be proud that Hiccup had the same injury as him.

"At least Red Death is now gone for good." Hiccup concluded.

"'Red Death'?" Valka asked.

"That's what I named the giant evil dragon from that island." Hiccup stated, placing his feet on the floor, his right foot followed by the left one that had the wooden stump.

"I see. I think it fits her." Valka agreed as she handed him a clean green tunic.

"Definitely." Hiccup said, putting on the tunic. Valka gave a small chuckle when he fully had the tunic on.

Hiccup took a deep breath, pushed himself off the bed, and slowly stood up. He took his step with the left leg and inhaled. The pain seemed minimal. Valka and Cloud Jumper stared at him with worry. Then Hiccup grunted as he fell forward his leg crumpling. Toothless slipped his head under him and caught him. He lifted up and put him right back on him feet.

"Ok," Hiccup said, "Thanks, bud."

"**Take it slow, Hiccup.**" Toothless advised.

"You have a strong will, Hiccup." Valka commented with a small smile.

"Thank you." Hiccup complimented, "There's one thing I want to ask you, Valka."

"What's that?" Valka questioned.

"How did you find this place?" Hiccup asked, changing the subject.

"Cloud Jumper brought me here after he took me from my home. I've been living here ever since." Valka replied.

"Where are you from exactly?" Hiccup questioned.

"Berk." Valka answered.

"Don't you have family? Why haven't you gone back to them?" Hiccup asked.

"My husband wouldn't understand of my opinion about dragons. I also thought that my son would be safer if he stayed with his father." Valka explained. Hiccup could tell it was a touchy subject for Valka to explain about her family.

Her answer made Hiccup frowned. If she was from Berk, how come he never came across her? Most of the Vikings would be killed right near the village, there weren't any that were taken…except one: his mother. He looked up at Valka again and finally saw the similarities between him and her.

"So you're my…my..." Hiccup stuttered while pointing at the woman.

"I'm your mother, Hiccup." Valka said.

Then she walked up to him and quickly wrapped her arms around his little body. Hiccup was shocked at this. He never expected to see his mother again. It was a lot to take in. But he knew that the woman who was hugging him was his mother. The mother he longed to see once more. Hiccup closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her waist. For some strange reason, he felt like he was home. Toothless nudged the two and they separated as they saw his innocent-looking expression. Hiccup smiled and placed his hand on his snout. His mother did the same thing as well. Toothless purred at their touches. A moment later, the two removed their hands from his snout.

"Come on, there's someone you should meet." Valka insisted as she led Hiccup and Toothless to the exit of the cave and he was shocked at the sight: dragons…everywhere! There were at least hundreds of them including their babies. Hundreds of different species flew about or were perched on the mountain rocks. The place itself was surrounded by ice, but it looked like a tropical oasis on the inside. Plants grew around the bottom and moss covered some of the rocks. There were even some waterfalls pouring from above. He heard a croon of some sort and turned to see his mother holding onto Cloud Jumper who was hanging down from the ceiling.

"This is where you've been for fourteen years." Hiccup breathed after finding the right words.

She nodded at his words. She looked relieved at his words.

"Unbelievable." he whispered.

Valka laughed as Cloud Jumper helped her lowered herself to the ground.

"Do-Do you like it?" Valka asked as she approached Hiccup.

"I-I don't have the words." Hiccup stuttered as he looked all around him.

At same time, Toothless was getting crowded by the other dragons which made him very uncomfortable by all this kind of attention. When one of the dragons sniffed near his behind, he growled at them which made them leaved to fly around the sanctuary.

"Where did you find Toothless?" Valka asked as she scratched Toothless behind his head which caused him to purr happily.

"I uh, found Toothless in the woods," he explained nervously. "He was shot down and wounded."

A solemn look replaced his mother's happy expression. She walked over to a group of dragons that looked like they had recently been rescued.

"This Snafflefang lost its leg to one of Drago Bludvist's iron traps," she explained while showing him a blue and brown dragon with a stump for one of its hind legs.

"And this Raincutter had a wing sliced by razor netting," his mother went on as she showed him another dragon. His eyes widened in horror when he saw a sleek dragon with torn wings.

"And this…." She paused as a color changing dragon, almost like a chameleon changing with its environment, approached her. He noticed that it's eyes were cloudy white. "Poor Hobblegrunt was blinded by a tree snare." She patiently held her hand out and waited as the Hobblegrunt gingerly lowered its head. "And then left alone to die," she murmured sympathetically.

"Who's Drago Bludvist?" Hiccup asked.

"Drago Bludvist is a mad man who traps dragons for a living and controls them to strike fear into the hearts of many Vikings. Anyone who crosses his path… are cut down." Valka explained.

The thought of encountering a man like Drago spent a cold shiver down Hiccup's spine. Here he thought that Dagur the Deranged was a mad man who liked to kill dragons. But Drago was on a completely different level. He wanted to _control_ dragons and use them as weapons. It made Hiccup sick to the stomach that someone would do such a thing to innocent creatures.

"And what of this? Did Drago or one of his trappers do this to him?" Valka asked, holding up Toothless' tail fin. Hiccup froze at the question. If he told her, would she hate him for hurting an innocent dragon? But he had to tell her. He just hoped that she would understand him.

"Well," Hiccup sighed after giving in, "the crazy thing is; _I'm_ the one who actually shot him down." Valka looked at him in disbelief as she stood up and narrowed her eyes. "Hey, it's… it's okay though! You got me back, right bud? You couldn't save all of me, could you? You just had to make it even!" Hiccup cradled Toothless in his hands, shaking him around playfully. To finish his explanation he held up his prosthetic leg. "So, peg-leg!" he said in a sing-song voice.

It somehow amused Valka to see her son getting along with the night fury. She had to admit that the two were as close as brothers almost.

"Mom, what happened that night you were taken?" Hiccup asked. His father never told him the story of when his mother was taken from him and his father. Whenever he asked about his mother, Stoic would simply ignore him. Valka sighed before she began to tell the story.

"Berk was a land of kill or be killed, but I believed peace was possible. It was an unpopular opinion too. But one night...when you were about 7 months old...a dragon, Cloud Jumper in fact, broke in to the house and finding you in the cradle. I rushed to protect you but what I saw...was proof of everything I believed. Cloud Jumper was playing with you, letting you hold his claw as you giggled but his weight on the cradle made it rock and he left you that scar on your chin..."

Hiccup touched his scar on his chin. He didn't think that's how he got the scar. Perhaps his father never knew as well. But he knew that Cloud Jumper didn't mean to harm him at all. By seeing how he was loyally following his mother and staying by her side.

"This wasn't a vicious beast, but an intelligent, gentle creature whose soul reflected my own...It didn't last, your father came and frightened Cloud Jumper who lit the house on fire. I begged him to stop and he did. Your father grabbed you and went to get me but Cloud Jumper already took off, holding me in his claws..." Valka looked down sadly, "You and you father nearly died that night, all because I couldn't kill a dragon."

"It runs in the family..." Hiccup finally said. Valka gave a small smile to that.

"How did you survive?" Hiccup asked.

"Oh, Cloud Jumper never meant to harm me. He… must have thought that I belonged here…." She paused and gestured towards the ledge that overlooked a pillar of ice. He walked over next to her and his jaw dropped and his eyes widened at what he saw: a majestic looking white dragon with spikes that were lighter brown. It looked even bigger than Red Death!

"In the home of the great Bewilderbeast. The Alpha species," Valka explained. "Every nest has their Queen, but this… _this_ is the _King_ of all dragons! With his icy breath, this graceful giant built our nest. A safe haven for dragons everywhere."

"We all live under his care and his command." Valka said as she and Hiccup were walking down towards the alpha. Then a bunch of colorful baby dragons which were known as Scuttleclaws surrounding Toothless. They were a cross between a Deadly Nadder and a Hideous Zippleback. They were just smaller than them. Toothless didn't like how the baby Scuttleclaws were invading his space. Cloud Jumper roared at them which caused them to scurry and fly down towards the alpha.

"All but the babies, of course, who… listen to no one." Valka laughed as one of the Scuttleclaws landed on the Alpha dragon. Their flying had woken up the king as they flew away and chased each other. The Bewilderbeast lifted his massive head up as Hiccup stood like a statue while his mother, Cloud Jumper, and Toothless bowed to the large creature. Up close, the Bewilderbeast was even more intimidating than Hiccup had thought possible. But it was also beautiful looking. It had blue eyes similar to the sky and large tusks pointed in their direction. The dragon was _huge_, probably the size of a large mountain.

"I've lived among them for twenty years, Hiccup," Valka continued, "learning their ways, discovering their secrets." The Bewilderbeast chose that moment to breathe a snowy powder at Hiccup. He had to shut his eyes to keep them from getting frozen. He shook the snow off his hair. "Ha ha, he likes ya'."

"Wow," Hiccup awed at the giant powerful dragon.

He never thought in his wildest dreams that he would encounter such a dragon. It was simply beyond words. For some strange reason, this sanctuary gave off a feeling of home. A place to feel safe and protected from harm. Toothless always gave off the feeling of protection, but also the love and care of a friend.

"So Hiccup, would ya' like to stay?" Valka questioned, interrupting Hiccup's thoughts.

Hiccup gazed up at all of the dragons that resided in the sanctuary. He couldn't believe this is what his mother had been doing for the last fourteen years since she was taken. Somehow, he felt at home in this place. He was finally reunited with his long lost mother felt like a dream. Perhaps it would be great idea to stay.

"I would love to, mom." Hiccup answered, smiling. Unexpectedly, his mother wrapped her arms around him once more as he returned the gesture.

* * *

_Family gives us two things; one is roots, the other is wings._

\- Unknown


	4. Destination Decided

Chapter 4: Destination Decided

Three Years Later:

"So you're really leaving?" Valka asked.

"Yeah," Hiccup replied, "There's so much wonder out there and I want to be the first to see it."

After Hiccup had recovered from the loss of his leg, his mother and the other dragons helped him train in fighting and taming other dragons. He had gotten better at defending himself without Toothless by his side. Within the year, Hiccup was lot taller, still skinny but strong. It was all in his upper body as well. He changed his outfit to a red tunic, brown pants, one brown boot, shoulder, chest, and back armor with the symbol of a Night Fury with a red left tail fin like Toothless's on his right shoulder pad. When he finally recovered, he updated his wood leg and added a metal hook to it which could attach to pedal on Toothless's saddle which helped him operate his new tail fin. Throughout the three years, he invented "Inferno" which was a device that can transform into a sword that is covered in Nightmare's saliva which ignited it. There were small canisters that contained Zippleback gas. He used Inferno whenever he encountered a wild dragon. By surrounding himself in a ring of Zippleback gas and lighting it up, a dragon will think he's one of them. While living with the dragons, he discovered a strong kind of metal that only Gronckles are able to produce: Gronckle iron. He also developed a shield of his own as well which was also made of Gronckle iron just like Inferno. The shield had really cool functions. It was a bola launcher, crossbow, grappling line, and a catapult.

"Well, if you plan on going, then I can't stop you," Valka said, "But promise me that you'll write to me."

"Of course I will. I'll send Sharpshot to you once I get there." Hiccup promised as he attached his shield onto his back. Sharpshot was the Terrible Terror that Hiccup rescued from Berk along with the other dragons. He and his mother were trying to make a new system for Terrible Terrors: Terror mail. It would be used as a mailing system when sending messages to one another. Hiccup figured that he trained Sharpshot for this purpose because he knew that his mother would want to hear from him as he traveled. Right now Sharpshot was sitting on top of the saddle. Hiccup wanted to make sure that he would be comfortable for the flight.

"Good. Where are you going first?" Valka questioned.

"I was thinking Rome." Hiccup answered.

"Be careful there, Hiccup. I hear Romans aren't friendly towards Vikings." Valka warned.

"I'm not exactly a Viking, mom." Hiccup pointed out.

"You're a special kind of Viking, Hiccup," Valka stated, "And I'm very proud that you're different from the regular Viking."

"Thanks, mom." Hiccup thanked his mom as he hugged her. Then he let go and got onto Toothless. Sharpshot sat up front on the saddle. Hiccup adjusted everything before he would take off. Valka walked up to him and gave him a medium sized bag, "What's this?"

"Some things you might need for any dragon you might come across." Valka explained.

"Thanks again, mom." Hiccup hugged his mom once more. Then he guided Toothless towards the exit of the sanctuary. He looked over his shoulder to see his mom smiling at him and gave him an air kiss goodbye. Hiccup returned the gesture and turned to the exit. Toothless leaped out of the sanctuary and went off into the sky. The first step to Hiccup's journey began once more.

* * *

_All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination._

\- Earl Nightingale


	5. Slight Detour

Chapter 5: Slight Detour

A/N:

I don't know where Avalor was located, so I chose Spain and I thought it would be cool if Hiccup and Toothless explored this land.

'**Dragons'** – Dragonese

* * *

The sea was quite beautiful as Hiccup and Toothless flew over it. They were in luck that there weren't any trouble so far. But Hiccup didn't want to admit it out loud in case he might jinx their trip. The only one who was sleeping was Sharpshot who was sleeping inside one of Hiccup's bags. Hiccup was glad for the quietness of the trip. He began to wonder what he might encounter on this trip. It had been bugging him for a while. He knew that there might a whole new culture to learn from one he reached his destination, it might be something different or maybe it might be the same as his own. Then Hiccup spotted an island up ahead of them. As he got closer, he could spot a big town as well. He knew that it wasn't Rome. But it probably wouldn't hurt to explore it for a little bit.

Suddenly, Hiccup and Toothless soon heard a roar in the woods below them. Curious to where the roar came from, the duo flew towards the source. It leads them to a clearing where they saw the unexpected: a Stormcutter dragon. Hiccup was shocked to see one here. He thought his mother's Stormcutter, Cloud Jumper, was the only one he would ever see. But that wasn't the only thing he saw. It had a light blue body, the exact same shade of a clear sky. Its head and the base of its wings were yellow, matching the bright sunlight. But that wasn't the only thing he saw. There was a human boy interacting with the dragon as well. He looked comfortable around the boy. That probably meant that the Stormcutter knew the boy and maybe its rider as well. Trying not to appear as an enemy to the new dragon, Hiccup directed Toothless to land not too far from the dragon in the clearing. The boy and dragon spotted the two as they landed.

"Uh, hello there. Nice day?" Hiccup greeted. The boy and dragon stared at Hiccup and Toothless with curiosity.

"Who are you?" The boy questioned. The boy looked to be around Hiccup's age. He had short curly black hair, brown eyes, and light brown skin. His outfit was entirely different from Hiccup's choice of clothing.

"I'm Hiccup and this is Toothless." Hiccup introduced. Then Sharpshot popped out of Hiccup's bag and perched onto Hiccup's right shoulder, "And this is Sharpshot."

"My name is Carlos and this is my friend, Cielo." 'Carlos' introduced, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." Hiccup agreed, "I never thought I would see another Stormcutter."

"Stormcutter?" Carlos asked.

"That's the kind of dragon that Cielo is." Hiccup pointed out as he and Toothless walked up to Carlos and Cielo. Up close, Hiccup noticed that Cielo's body size was almost the same size as Toothless. Hiccup figured that he was the same age as Toothless.

"There are other kinds of dragons out there?" Carlos asked, interested.

"Yeah, but I'm not all that sure how many there are. I'm still trying to find new species of them along my journey." Hiccup answered.

"**Have you seen my mother by any chance?**" Cielo asked Toothless.

"**Your mother?**" Toothless asked.

"**I'm sorry. We haven't.**" Hiccup added.

"**Wait, you can understand me?**" Cielo asked with curiosity.

"**Toothless taught me dragonese.**" Hiccup answered, "**But how are you here?**"

"**We were separated during a storm and I ended up here. Carlos has been taking care of me ever since.**" Cielo explained.

"Why are you grunting and growling at Cielo?" Carlos asked.

"Oh, I'm speaking to him actually." Hiccup replied.

"Really? You can understand him?" Carlos asked, curious.

"It's called dragonese. It took me awhile to get the hang of it and now I'm fluent with it." Hiccup stated proudly.

"Wow." Carlos awed, "So what can you tell me about Stormcutters?"

"Sure, I would be glad to." Hiccup agreed, "By the way, where am I?"

"You're in the kingdom of Avalor which resides in my country of Spain." Carlos answered.

"Avalor? Spain?" Hiccup questioned.

He had never heard of this kingdom. He knew that he was _way_ outside of the archipelago. He wondered how far he was going to travel in order to get to Rome. But maybe he should take a break and explore this land. For the rest of the afternoon, Hiccup told Carlos everything he knew about Stormcutters and other kinds of dragons. Carlos was hooked onto the subject as he petted Sharpshot who curled up in his lap. When that conversation was over, his told Hiccup about most of the mystical creatures that lived in Avalor, Jaquins to be most precise. Then he told Hiccup about Shuriki, a power hungry sorceress who got rid of the royal family and now rules over this once happy and colorful kingdom of Avalor. But he also told him that Princess Elena is still alive who's trapped in a magical amulet. The royal wizard, Alacazar, found the amulet and went on a journey to find a way to free Elena. However it's been forty-one years and the amulet hasn't been found and Alacazar hasn't been seen since. Hiccup felt sorry for Princess Elena. The girl had lost her family and kingdom to an evil woman and is now trapped and alone in amulet without a way to get out.

"Hey, do you have a place to stay tonight?" Carlos asked which snapped Hiccup out of his thoughts and looked up at the sky to notice that the sun was nearly down.

"I'm afraid I don't since I just got here." Hiccup answered. Then the two got up at the same time. Sharpshot crawled up onto Carlos's arm and perched himself on his left shoulder.

"You can stay with me until you figure out your plans." Carlos offered.

"Thanks that would be great." Hiccup thanked Carlos, "But what about Toothless and Sharpshot?"

"I'm afraid they'll have to stay outside." Carlos concluded, regrettably. Toothless and Sharpshot crooned with sadness. Neither liked being away Hiccup.

"I know guys. Just stay near the house, okay?" Hiccup suggested as he patted Toothless's snout. Toothless crooned with sadness as he pressed himself against Hiccup.

"Don't worry, Cielo will be here to keep you company." Carlos consoled the two dragons.

"I'll see you later guys." Hiccup declared before Carlos gestured him to follow him.

* * *

Hiccup was surprised when he saw Carlos's house. It was far different than the ones on Berk. They seemed to be made out of some kind of stone and only the doors and roof were made of wood.

"Wow. You got a nice house, Carlos." Hiccup commented.

"Thanks." Carlos stated as he and walked through the gate.

"So you live here by yourself?" Hiccup asked.

"No, I live with my aunt and cousin. They took me in when I was six years old after my parents died." Carlos explained.

"What happened to them?" Hiccup asked. Carlos took a deep breath and let it out. He never liked talking about his parents. But somehow, he felt comfortable to tell Hiccup about them.

"My parents were traders and explorers. An unexpected storm came and destroyed their boat. But no survivors were found." Carlos concluded. Hiccup placed his hand on his right shoulder.

"I'm sorry about your parents, Carlos." Hiccup apologized.

"It's okay. It was eleven years ago." Carlos pointed out.

"Carlos!"

The two turned towards the voice and saw a woman who looked to be in her late 30s. She had short curly dark brown hair and brown eyes. Her outfit was also different from Carlos's outfit. He could tell that she was wearing a pale green long sleeved shirt with a brownish red apron material that covered her chest which was combined into a long dress skirt.

"Where have you been? I've been so worried…" The woman trailed off when she took notice of Hiccup. "Carlos, who's this?"

"This is Hiccup. He's a traveler who needs a place to stay for a while." Carlos explained, "Hiccup, this is my aunt Rafa."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Rafa." Hiccup greeted with a smile.

"And to you as well, Hiccup." Rafa greeted back, "Please, come in."

"Thank you." Hiccup said.

Carlos and Rafa lead him into a room that had a table filled with different kinds of food that Hiccup didn't know of. Carlos sat down first and Hiccup sat right next to him.

"I get you a plate, Hiccup." Rafa said as she went back to the kitchen.

"Thank you, Miss Rafa." Hiccup said.

At that moment, Hiccup and Carlos heard the front door opened and a boy ran into the room. He had nearly the same hair as Carlos and his aunt, but his eyes were the color of hazel. He also looked to be the same age as Carlos and him. To his estimate guess, he figured that the boy must be Rafa's son.

"Carlos, there you are! I've wanted to talk to…" The boy trailed off when he noticed Hiccup.

"Oh, this is my cousin, Mateo." Carlos gestured to the boy entered the room.

"I'm Hiccup." Hiccup introduced himself.

"Hiccup?" What kind of name is that?" Mateo questioned, his left brow arched.

"From where I'm from, the runt of the litter is always named 'Hiccup', human or animal." Hiccup explained.

"Oh, sorry if that came out rude." Mateo apologized with his palms out in front of him.

"It's okay, after seventeen years, you get used to it." Hiccup admitted.

"But still, I'm sorry." Mateo apologized once more.

"Don't worry about it." Hiccup accepted his apology as Mateo sat down across from him.

"Dinner is served." Rafa announced when she entered the room once more.

* * *

Dinner had very interesting dishes. The most interesting one was the chicken and rice dish. He never had rice before. The chicken was even better with all of the vegetables and spices that Hiccup knew only a few about. Not to mention dessert as well: Spanish churros with chocolate was the sweetest treat he had ever tasted. It was deep fried dough in a round shape which can be dipped in rich chocolate. It was Hiccup's first great meal that he has had since he went on his journey of discovery.

After the dinner and dessert, Hiccup had explained why he was in Avalor. Mateo was very interested about meeting Toothless and Sharpshot. But he was mostly surprised to hear that there are more dragons out there in the world. He also told about his life on Berk, meeting Toothless, the times in Dragon training, leaving Berk, the battle of Red Death, losing his leg, and reuniting with his mother.

"Wow, you've done some amazing things so far, Hiccup." Mateo complimented.

"Thanks, but I would've been able to do all that without Toothless." Hiccup commented.

"But it's still incredible that you were able to do all of that." Carlos added, "But taming dragons is just as amazing."

"Yeah, you would be shocked about all of what I learned from my mother when she told me about the dragons she had been living with," Hiccup admitted, "However I felt like I should learn even more as I go on my journey and see what wonders I might see."

"I feel the same way," Carlos admitted, "But I feel like something is holding me back."

"I think you should go with Hiccup, Carlos." Mateo encouraged.

"Yeah, but can I really leave you and aunt Rafa?" Carlos questioned.

"We'll be fine, Carlos. You should pursue your dream." Mateo declared.

"I'll wait until you decide." Hiccup stated.

"Thanks, Hiccup." Carlos said with a small smile.

* * *

_See any detour as an opportunity to experience new things._

\- H. Jackson Brown, Jr.


	6. Zuzo the Chanul

Chapter 5: Zuzo the Chanul

"Wow, I didn't think there would be more dragons other than Cielo." Mateo said as he petted Toothless's head who purred at the attention he was getting. They were outside of Rafa's house. The dragons came out near the tree line. Toothless licked Hiccup so much, Hiccup thought he was going to drown in it. Once they met up in the early morning, the two dragon riders went out fishing for their dragons. After getting enough for them, they went back to the house and ate a yummy breakfast. Right now, the three boys were in the back yard playing with the dragons.

"True. However, not many dragons have been discovered since Vikings don't venture far from their homelands. They only thing they want to know about them are their weaknesses and how honorable they'll be once they slay them." Hiccup commented.

"I can't believe that they would do such things towards these incredible creatures." Carlos added.

"Well, I just hope that I'll be able to make a place where dragons can coexist with humans." Hiccup admitted.

"We know you will, Hiccup." Carlos assured him.

Then the boys heard voices around the corner. Curious to see who was there, they quietly walked to the corner and spotted a young girl with long brown hair and dark blue eyes. She had a tiara on her head and was wore a pretty purple dress. She had three winged cats next to her. Hiccup guessed that these must be Jaquins which are winged jaguars. The first one looked to be a female. She had orange colored fur, red spots and pink feathers, and golden eyes. The one next to her was a little bit bigger than her and it looked like a male one. He had yellow colored fur, orange spots and feathers, and green eyes. The one next to the girl also appeared to be a male as well. He had golden colored fur, blue spots and feathers, and ice blue eyes.

"I know. But maybe you could help me. I need to summon his chanul." The girl said.

"I don't know what that is. But I'm afraid that you _won't_ find it here. Good day now." Rafa said before she slammed the gate shut in front of the girl.

"Well that could have gone better." The golden Jaquin commented.

"How do you know what a chanul is?" Mateo asked. The girl and the Jaquins turned to Mateo and the boys. Then the girl quickly walked to Mateo.

"Oh! Well…" The girl began to say, not knowing how to answer Mateo's question.

"That was my mom you were just talking to." Mateo explained, "I'm Mateo."

"I'm Hiccup." Hiccup introduced and turned to Toothless and Sharpshot. "This is Toothless and Sharpshot."

"Carlos." Carlos said and gestured Cielo, "and this is Cielo."

"I'm Luna." The female jaquin said.

"Migs." The yellow jaquin said.

"Skylar." The gold jaquin said.

"Wait, _you're_ Alacazar's grandson?" The girl asked, pointing at Mateo.

"You knew my grandfather?" Mateo questioned, brow arched.

"Um, sort of. My name is Sofia," 'Sofia' introduced, "I know this might sounds strange but your grandfather sent me here to free Princess Elena."

"Princess Elena?" Mateo pondered. Then he realized who Sofia spoke of, "Wait that means...that's the amulet of Avalor!" Mateo pointed at the amulet that Sofia wore around her neck.

"Yes, how did you know?" Sofia asked.

"Aunt Rafa told us the story so many times he memorize it." Carlos stated before Mateo turned around and gestured Sofia to follow him.

"Follow me." Mateo said.

"Where are we going?" Sofia asked as she and the Jaquins followed after him.

"To my workshop." Mateo replied when he arrived at a hole that was covered by a wooden wheel. He moved the wheel to the side and gestured to the entrance to his workshop. He got down on his knees and crawled into the entrance with Hiccup and Carlos behind him.

"Wish me luck." Sofia said before following after the boys, leaving the Jaquins and dragons outside.

* * *

Mateo lite up a lantern and carried it with him as Hiccup, Carlos, and Sofia walked down the long dark stairway.

"It's a _long_ way down." Sofia commented.

"I know. But it's the only way to keep everything secret. When Queen Shuriki took over, she banned all magic except her own." Mateo explained when they reached the bottom of the stairs and entered a room that was filled with all kinds of things that a wizard would use: books, bottles in different shapes and sizes, drums and drumsticks, carpets, and candles.

"So there are no wizards in Avalor?" Sofia asked as Mateo placed the lantern on a small top shelf near the corner of the door.

"Not anymore." Mateo stated and went over to a cabinet that held a few colored drumsticks on a shelf and grabbed a few, "When my grandma hid all of my grandpa's things down here, but my mother never wanted anything to do with them. So it sat here all locked up until I found it."

"Mateo has been trying to teach himself magic ever since." Carlos added as Mateo placed the sticks on the ground near a decorative round stone slab on the floor.

"I can almost imagine how hard that must be." Hiccup commented while Mateo went to grab a book.

"You were lucky that you never witnessed a few failed attempts that nearly cost me my life." Carlos mentioned with his hands in his hips.

"I said I was sorry that time." Mateo said, placing the book down near the drum sticks.

"It's okay. That was a long time ago. I got over it. You didn't know that spell would almost kill me." Carlos shrugged with his arm out.

"But still, I'm sorry for that." Mateo said, "Okay, let me think, I just need a few things." He grabbed a candle and lite it before he placed it on the ground near the book and went to get a purple mat with orange colored designs on it and unrolled it in front of them, "Okay just sit down here, everyone."

"Why?" Sofia asked as Mateo grabbed a few drums.

"We're going to summon my grandpa's chanul." Mateo confirmed as he placed the drums near him.

"What is a chanul exactly?" Sofia asked as Mateo sat down, Indian style, and opened the book of magic.

"A spirit animal. It's like a guide to all the magical stuff in the world that we can't see." Mateo explained while trying to find the summoning spell, "Like Princess Elena. It was my grandpa's chanul who figured out she was in the Amulet, and told him how to get her out."

He then reached the page he was looking for. "Here we go. Now, where's my tamborita?" He pulled out a drum and struck it with a stick.

"Okay, this is the first time I've tried this incantation, so it may not work the first... eight or nine times. Maybe ten." He cleared his throat. "Appear to us, Animal spirit of Alakazar. Illuminara Alacazar wyowell!"

Mateo struck the tamborita, breaking the stick. Hiccup and Carlos cringed at his mistake.

"Maybe you hit it too hard, Mateo." Carlos commented.

"Try a little lighter." Hiccup suggested.

"That would be a better idea." Mateo said, sheepishly, and grabbed another drum stick. Then he held the drum up again and got ready to tap the drum, "Let's try that again. Illuminara Alacazar wyowell!"

Mateo hit the tamborita a little more lightly. The lights all went out, and a howling wind was heard. Sofia gasped.

"What's happening?" Sofia trembled.

"Did it work, Mateo?" Hiccup asked, a little creeped out.

"I hope it did." Carlos said.

Suddenly, a puff of smoke appeared and a blue spirit fox emerged from it. It was covered in neon aura, cyan fur and eyes, dark cyan nose, eyebrows and swirl pattern stripes, long goatee.

"Hiya!" The spirit smiled. "Greetings from the spirit world! How are you doing today?"

"Oh, mighty chanul, you honor us with your presence!" Mateo said respectfully.

"Wow… and here I thought that stories about spirits were just stories." Hiccup said as he stared at the blue spirit fox. He never thought he would be able to see such a creature. Not mention a friendly one as well.

"Yeah." Carlos agreed.

"Hey, I know you're excited, I get it!" The spirit chuckled and winked. "It's not every day you meet a spirit animal right? But you called me, I'm here, we can skip all the fanfare and just get on with it, okay?" Zuzo disappeared.

"Of course, mighty chanul!" Mateo agreed before Zuzo appeared next to him.

"Oh, you can call me Zuzo." The spirit smiled.

"Yes, of course, mighty Zuzo!" Mateo declared as Zuzo circled around him.

"You know, you don't have to call me anything." Zuzo deadpanned who got annoyed by Mateo's tone of voice. He turned to Sofia. "So, you're the princess who's going to free Elena?"

"I guess so." Sofia shrugged. Zuzo disappeared and appeared behind Sophia.

"Alright then," Zuzo smiled. "Now, here's what ya' gotta do..."

"Wait, I thought I just had to summon you." Sofia frowned as Zuzo licked his paw.

"Uh-huh." Zuzo nodded. "So I could tell you how to get her out. That's what spirit guides do. They guide you." He disappeared and reappeared on the stone slab, "First, you gonna need the wand that put Elena in there." He pointed at the amulet.

"Shuriki's wand?" Sofia gasped, "But she keeps it in her pocket!" She gestured her pocket on her dress.

"That's great!" Zuzo smiled. "Then you'll know exactly where to find it! Now, once you've got the wand, you just wrap the wand around it, and put it on the crown of Azaluna!"

"The crown of who?" Hiccup asked, brow arched.

"Azaluna." Mateo told him. "He was a great healer who could undo any spell or curse. There's an ancient Meruvian statue of him way up in the mountains."

"It's kind of like a hospital for magical mishaps." Zuzo pointed out.

"But I don't know where it is!" Sofia frowned. "Or how I'm going to get there or how I'm going to steal Shuriki's wand."

"Okay, let's all take a deep breath." Zuzo instructed and took a deep breath and let it out. "In and out..."

The humans followed his actions.

"Good." Zuzo nodded and walked over to Sofia. "Now, I've got some spirit animal wisdom for ya': Just because you're the one, doesn't mean you're the _only_ one." Sofia looked confused. "That's not supposed to make sense right now. You'll get it later! But first, you've gotta go get that wand, Princess!" He jumped into the center of the room. "Alright, it's been a pleasure being your spirit guide today. Safe travels, bye!"

Zuzo vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Quite an interesting character, huh?" Carlos questioned.

"I'll say." Hiccup said.

"How great was that?" Mateo cheered. "I summoned my first chanul!"

"Congratulations, Mateo." Hiccup complimented, "But what did Zuzo mean by that Sofia wasn't the only 'one'?"

"Well Zuzo did say that she'll get it later." Carlos pointed.

"I hope so." Sofia agreed.

Mateo was still cheering to himself until he slipped on a drum stick, almost falling until Sofia grabbed him and the boys got behind him in case he fell backwards.

"Sorry!" He yelped, as he almost pulled her down too.

"Whoa!" Sofia yelped as Mateo steadied her and the boys grabbed his shoulders.

"Hey, nice moves." Mateo smiled. "I bet you're good dancer, aren't you?"

"That's how I'll get her wand!" Sofia realized as she and the boys let go of Mateo. "I'll dance with her!"

"Ugh, that won't work." Carlos concluded.

"Shuriki outlawed dancing when she banned music." Mateo added gesturing him playing a trombone.

"That's a bummer." Hiccup comment. Then Mateo made a dance stance.

"My mom still taught Carlos and I the sambarosa though." Mateo said as he did a quick dance.

"We have to go back to the palace!" Sofia declared as she grabbed Mateo's hand, breaking him out of his stance, and pulling him up to the stairs with Hiccup and Carlos behind them.

"_We_?" Mateo questioned before he yelped as Sofia continued to drag him to the stairs.

* * *

_Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved._

― William Jennings Bryan


	7. Free The Princess!

Chapter 7: Free the Princess!

A/N:

'**Dragons**' – Dragonese

* * *

The group went back to the castle so that Sofia could get Shuriki's wand. They all felt a little bit nervous and scared for the little princess. But they had faith in her.

"Do you think she's okay?" Mateo asked as he sat on Luna.

"I can only hope so." Carlos said as he sat on Cielo.

"Let's have some faith in Sofia. If she was able to convince her family to come here to where a dangerous sorceress lives, then she can do it." Hiccup pointed out as he sat on Toothless.

"I guess you're right, Hiccup." Carlos agreed. Then they spotted Sofia coming around the corner.

"I got the wand!" Sofia confirmed as she ran towards them with the wand in her hand.

"Right on, Sofia!" Luna beamed.

"I don't know how you pulled that off, but Shuriki never lets anyone get close to her." Mateo pointed out.

"Look at her!" Skylar smirked as Sofia got onto his back. "Girl looks as sweet as sugar, but she got some skills!"

"Okay Mateo, show the way to Azaluna!" Sofia urged. "We have a Princess to free!"

The Jaquins carried their passengers into the sky with the dragon riders right behind them. The group flew deep into Avalor until they reached some ruins. Most of the plant life had taken over some of the buildings while there were others that had pieces of them lying around.

"What's that?" Sofia asked.

"An old Meruvian temple." Mateo declared. "The statue is inside."

"Whoa, man!" Skylar smirked as they observed the abandoned temple as they dove in closer. "They really let the place go."

"The Meruvians vanished centuries ago." Mateo explained. "No-one knows what happened to them, or where they went. All that's left of the ancient civilization of Meru are ruins like this."

"We have a fair share of ruins where I'm from." Hiccup commented.

"Really?" Mateo asked.

"What kinds?" Carlos asked.

"Half sunken boats grave yards and dried up dragon and Viking skeletons." Hiccup answered.

"**Most of those ruins were caused by dragons and Vikings**." Toothless added.

"I don't really blame any of you for that." Hiccup stated, "Vikings just never even tried to understand dragons and Red Death was the main cause of all of those wars."

"**I would like to agree with that statement**." Toothless grunted in agreement.

They flew into the temple, stopping when they reached a cliff edge over a pool of shining water. The humans dismounted off the Jaquins and dragons and stared at the pool below them.

"Where's the statue?" Sofia asked.

"Legend has it you need to swim across the enchanted blue waters for the magic to work." Mateo declared. The boys noticed that Sofia looked nervous at the task of finding the statue.

"You'll be fine, Sofia." Carlos reassured her.

"Good luck." Hiccup encouraged her.

"Okay." Sofia nodded. Cielo laid his tail down that lead down to the small ledge below. Sofia gently grabbed onto Cielo's tail and slid down to the small ledge. She tried to think of a way of how to find the statue in the pool in front of her.

"Being a mermaid would really come in handy right now." Sofia told the amulet. Then the amulet glowed and string of pink sparkles swirled around and changed her into a mermaid.

"Whoa, did you see that?" Skylar gasped.

"I wish I could shapeshift that easily." Mateo admitted.

"Wow, that's pretty cool." Carlos commented.

"I rather shape into a dragon." Hiccup added.

"**I wonder what kind of dragon you would shape into**." Cielo pondered.

"I would do a night fury." Hiccup suggested.

"**I say that suits you**." Cielo confirmed.

Sofia dove into the pool and searched for the statue. She grew worried when she didn't see it. She went further into the pool and spotted the statue where the crown laid.

"That must be it!" Sofia smiled. Then she took off the amulet and wrapped it around the wand, "Right, we have to put the Amulet and wand on the crown of Azaluna." Sofia declared.

She swam towards it and plugged the wand into a hole in the crown. There was a series of whirring sounds. The wand and amulet glowed pink and shot a beam upwards. Then bubbles swirled around it and the statue rose out of the water as the pink beam disappeared. The Jaquins, boys, and dragons gasped as the statue finally reached the surface of the pool.

"Whoaaa!" Sofia yelled as she slipped down Azaluna's tail and landed at the end of it. She gazed up at the statue as she stood up and saw the glowing amulet float down. It fluttered to the ground, creating a cloud of pink smoke with a blue light glowed within. When the smoke and light cleared, Princess Elena was standing before them. The group on the top ledge gasped in amazement once again. Sofia noticed that her amulet floating towards her and gently grabbed it as it returned to her. But she noticed something different about it.

"My amulet," Sofia gasped. "It changed color." She put the amulet back on around her neck.

"Princess Elena?" Sofia asked, approaching her.

The light around Elena faded and she opened her eyes. Skyler and Luna (carrying Mateo) along with the dragon riders flew down as Elena started moving her body, overjoyed.

"I'm free!" She smiled, placing her hands on her cheeks. "I'm finally free!" She spun around, but almost lost her balance. "Whoa!"

"Are you okay?" Sofia asked.

"I'm good." Elena chuckled. "I'm good. Guess this is what happens when you're stuck inside an amulet for 41 years. You forget how to walk."

Elena hugged Sofia, lifting her up and squealed.

"I knew you were the one!" She beamed and twirled around. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome." Sofia cringed at her tight grip on her.

"Princess Elena!" Skylar called, as he and Luna along with the dragon riders flew down.

"Oh, Jaquins," Elena smiled as she released Sofia and saw Hiccup and Carlos with their dragons. "And dragons as well."

"Princess Elena." Skylar repeated, as he and Luna bowed.

"Princess Elenaaaa!" Mateo yelped as he slid off Luna's back. He chuckled awkwardly, then stood up and bowed. "I'm Mateo, Alacazar's grandson."

"I'm Hiccup and this is Toothless." Hiccup said, bowing. Toothless gave a toothless smile which made Elena giggle.

"I'm Carlos and this is Cielo." Carlos said, bowing. Cielo grunted in reply.

"You don't have to bow," Elena chuckled. "And you, huh, can just call me Elena."

"Okay, Elena," Mateo nodded. "I can't believe you're really back!"

"Neither can I," Elena sighed. "I was in the amulet so long, I thought I might never get out. But here I am."

_It feels so weird having my feet on the ground_

_It's been a while since I've been walking around_

_With my own eyes, I can once again see_

_My dream has come true — I am free_

_But now that I'm here, there's a mission at hand_

_To drive that witch out of our beautiful land_

_I'll banish the darkness and bring back the light_

_'Cuz this time I'm ready to fight_

_This is my time, my time to face my old foe_

_My time, reclaim what was ours long ago_

_This is my time to stand up with honor and pride_

_My time, I've come too far to be denied_

Elena walked up the Azaluna's crown and took the wand. She got on Skylar, and they took off, followed by Luna who was carrying Mateo and Sofia on her back along with the dragon riders behind them and out of the temple.

_Now off I must fly to the palace once more_

_To win back the freedom of all Avalor_

_I've spent my whole life waiting just for this day_

_And nothing will get in my way_

_This is my time, I have a plan that can't fail_

_My time, I won't stop 'til I prevail_

_My time, to honor my family and friends_

_My time, this is my time once again_

_This is my time once again_

The group soon headed off to face Shuriki the evil ruler who invaded Avalor and forcefully took the throne. They were going to end her reign of terror and cruelty once and for all.

* * *

_Believe in yourself, and the rest will fall into place. Have faith in your own abilities, work hard, and there is nothing you cannot accomplish_.

\- Brad Henry


	8. Shuriki's Reign Ends

Chapter 8: Shuriki's Reign Ends

A/N:

'**Dragons**' – Dragonese

* * *

The group landed on a ridge outside of Avalor. They were glad that Elena was finally freed from the amulet. But they didn't know how they were going to go against Shuriki, a powerful sorceress.

"Okay, I'll see you back in the city." Elena declared.

"Where are you going?" Sofia asked.

"I'm going to give Shuriki a taste of her own magic." Elena held up the wand.

"But Queen Shuriki is really powerful!" Carlos protested.

"Not without her wand." Elena smiled.

"Wait, we'll come with you!" Sofia offered.

"Me too!" Mateo added.

"Please, Elena?" Hiccup pleaded, "It's foolish to go against her without a plan."

"No, no." Elena shook her head. "Besides, you've already risked so much for me. This is something I have to do alone." She glanced at Skylar. "Let's go."

Skylar took off. The rest of the group watched her fly off towards the castle of Avalor.

"We have to help her, Mateo." Hiccup declared.

"Let's go." Sofia nodded.

"Right." Mateo nodded. "Go, Luna! Catch that Princess!"

"Let's go!" Carlos nodded.

"Let's do it!" Luna took off after Skylar with Migs and the dragon riders behind her.

* * *

"Elena!" Hiccup called as Luna, Migs, and the dragon riders flew over as Skylar carried Elena off the castle balcony. "What happened?"

"I tried my best." Elena sighed. "But I couldn't get the spell right and Shuriki has your family now!"

"She has my family?!" Sofia gasped.

"I'm so sorry!" Elena apologized.

"There she is!" A guard yelled from below. "Archers, lock your arrows! Draw!"

The guard started firing arrows at them.

"Whoa, they're shooting arrows!" Skylar dodged the barrage. "Evasion action! Dodge and weave!"

"Toothless, give a warning shot!" Hiccup ordered. Toothless charged up his plasma blast and it hit the guards' feet which caused them to fly backwards.

"Nice shot!" Hiccup complimented as he patted Toothless's head.

"We should just get on out of here!" Luna suggested.

"We can go to my place!" Mateo offered.

"Great, hang on!" Luna nodded.

The Jaquins and dragon riders flew off into the distance. Sofia looked back, worried for her family.

"I hope they're okay." Sofia sighed.

"Don't worry, we'll save them, Sofia." Hiccup assured the young princess. Sofia nodded at his words.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Jaquins and dragon riders landed in the garden of Mateo's home. Elena walked away sadly.

"Elena?" Hiccup asked. "What happened back there?"

Rafa emerged from the house.

"I never knew what happened to my sister and grandparents... until today," Elena declared. "Seeing them trapped in that painting reminded me of the last time I saw Isabel."

"Isabel?" Sofia asked.

"My little sister." Elena nodded. "She had been out in the garden all day, building a new feeder for the Jaquins. She was filthy, and our parents were on their way home for dinner, so I asked her to change. So she comes back wearing a clean dress, but her hands and face were still covered in dirt. I had just finished cleaning her up when... I heard my parents carriage pulling up outside. And then, Shuriki arrived."

"I'm sorry." Carlos sighed.

"So am I." Sofia bowed her head.

"When I saw her in that enchanted painting thing, she still had a smudge on her cheek." Elena noted. "I guess I missed a spot."

"We have a spell that can get them out." Rafa announced.

"We do?" Mateo frowned.

"We do." Rafa nodded. "Your grandfather showed me where it was before he left. But I never learned magic, so I cannot cast the spell. You have to do it, Mateo."

"And, er, why would I be able to do it?" Mateo asked.

"Mateo, you're down there in the basement, practicing magic day and night." Rafa smiled. "You think I don't know this? But Elena, I must warn you: To bring them out while Shuriki is still in power will place them in grave danger."

Mateo felt uncertain. He had never done a powerful spell before. He knew his grandpa was a great wizard, but could he pull off without screwing up?

"You can do it, Mateo." Hiccup encouraged the nervous boy.

"You have grandpa's blood running through you," Carlos added, "So I know that you'll be able to do the spell."

"**You can do it!**" The dragons crooned with excitement. Mateo smiled at everyone in the yard. The gate creaked which caused everyone's attention.

"We have visitors," Rafa noted. "Quick, hide! Over there!"

The others hid, while Rafa headed to the gate.

"Okay, coming! Coming!" She called.

She opened the gate to find three people there.

"Rafa, did you hear?" One man asked excitedly. "They say that Princess Elena has returned!"

"Hurry, hurry, come inside," Rafa urged. "We have to be careful. Princess Elena? It's okay. We can trust them."

Elena emerged from behind a tree along with everyone else.

"It is true!" An old man declared. "The Princess lives! My Princess!"

The people bowed.

"You don't have to bow." Elena sighed. "Oh, okay..."

"We are at your command." The first man declared.

"I will take on Shuriki myself!" The old man proclaimed.

"Thank you, all of you." Elena smiled. "But this is my fight, not yours. I'm the one who must face her."

"You may be the one, but you're not the only one." Sofia declared.

"Zuzo said that." Hiccup added. "And now we know what he meant."

"Yup." Carlos nodded.

"Okay, what did he mean?" Elena asked.

"We can all help." Sofia smiled. "You don't have to take on Shuriki alone."

"You just need to tell us what to do." Hiccup added.

"You know, all this time I was stuck in the Amulet, I thought I was alone." Elena admitted. "But you're right, Sofia. It doesn't have to be that way. I have all of you."

"Yeah, but what good are we against Shuriki and all her soldiers?" Skylar frowned.

"I'm still figuring that out." Elena admitted. "But I'm going to need everyone's help."

"We're with you!" Sofia smiled.

"All the way!" Mateo, Hiccup, and Carlos nodded.

"Not just you." Elena declared. "_Everyone_."

* * *

Skylar, who was carrying Elena and Sofia, and the dragon riders were flying pasts all of the ships, making sure that the guards from the castle won't spot them. They soon landed on a ridge in the rear of Avalor just below the castle.

"Where are we?" Sofia asked as she and Elena unmounted Skylar along with the dragon riders.

"A secret back entrance to the palace," Elena revealed. "Not that I ever snuck out when I wasn't supposed to..."

"I'm pretty sure you did." Carlos commented.

Elena pulled some vines away from an old door, then grabbed the handle and forced it open.

"I'll see you at the rendezvous point, Skylar, Cielo." She smiled, as she, Hiccup, Carlos, Sofia, Sharpshot, and Toothless entered.

"You better." Skylar smirked before he and Cielo flew off.

"How will we find my family?" Sofia asked, as they walked further down the tunnel.

"There's only one place Shuriki could have put them." Elena declared.

As they passed through another door, they bumped into Armando.

"Princess Elena?!" Armando gasped.

"Hey there," Elena smiled. "You look like a nice guy who just wants to do the right thing."

"I do?" Armando frowned. "I mean, I do! Whatever you need, Princess, I am at your service!"

Shortly afterwards, Armando knocked on the door to the dungeons, and was answered by two guards.

"Excuse me, but Queen Shuriki wants the both of you to report to her right away." Armando lied.

"I'll go." The tall guard told his bold partner. "You stay here."

"No, she wanted to see the both of you!" Armando yelped, as the tall guard walked down the hall.

"Well, one of us has to watch the prisoners." The guard retorted.

"Um, wait! Hold on!" Armando tried to get in, but the other guard slammed the door in his face. "Ow, that hurt..."

Armando went over to the girls, boys, and dragons.

"One of the guards wouldn't leave!" He groaned as he rubbed his nose.

"I got one way." Hiccup suggested, holding index finger up.

"What's that?" Elena asked, brow arched.

"Toothless can blast the door down. So you might want to back up a bit." Hiccup suggested.

Hiccup, Elena, Sofia, Carlos, and Armando moved away from the door as Toothless charged his blast in front of the door. When it finally hit, the door was in pieces and the guard was knocked unconscious.

"Wow, nice move, Toothless." Elena complimented.

"**Thanks**." Toothless warbled with a toothless smile. Then Sofia and Hiccup quickly ran pass the guard and grabbed the key that hung on the wall. The two ran down the small hallway and arrived at a cell where Sofia's family was being held.

"Hi." Sofia whispered.

"Sofia!" Her family gasped in unison.

"Who's this?" Her father, Roland, asked when he noticed Hiccup next to her.

"I'm Hiccup, a friend of Sofia's." Hiccup stated with Sharpshot on his shoulder. "This is Sharpshot."

"We have to hurry!" Sofia hissed.

"Sharpshot, aim for the lock." Hiccup commanded, pointing at the cell lock.

"**No problem.**" Sharpshot said. Sofia's family quickly moved out of the way as he charged up his shot. Sharpshot then hit the lock with his fire blast, which caused a huge hole in the lock

"Nice shot." Hiccup complimented Sharpshot.

"**Thanks.**" Sharpshot crooned.

"You have a lot of explaining to do!" Her mother, Miranda, frowned.

"Mom, I will, later. I promise." Sofia opened the door.

"Come on, let's go!" Hiccup gestured Sofia and her family to follow him.

* * *

Hiccup and Carlos tied up the guard and Roland helped carry him to another cell and locked the door on him. Everyone meet up outside of the dungeon.

"Dad, this is Princess Elena." Sofia declared.

"I'm sorry for the danger I put your family in," Elena curtsied. "But I've waited so many years for the one princess who could free me from the Amulet and that was Sofia. I sensed it from the very first day she moved into your castle."

"So when I was picking out Sofia's welcome gifts, it was _you_ who made the Amulet glow?" Roland asked, pointing at Elena.

"Yes." Elena smiled. "I needed someone young enough to get close to Shuriki without making her suspicious, but brave and clever enough to get me out. So you shouldn't be mad at her." Elena placed her hands on Sofia's shoulders. "You should be proud."

"Not many would take that sort of risk. But Sofia pulled it off." Hiccup commented with his arms crossed. Toothless and Sharpshot crooned in agreement.

"She's one brave princess." Carlos added.

"Sofia, you still should have told us what was going on." Miranda declared.

"I know," Sofia sighed. "I just wanted to keep you all out of trouble."

"Well, it's too late for that." Amber huffed.

"I think a pardon may be in order... just this once." Roland smiled.

"I have a plan to get you all to safety, but we have to hurry." Elena urged.

* * *

In the throne room, Shuriki was growing impatient. She wanted Elena imprisoned for the moment until she can think of another way to punish her. She couldn't believe that she had been alive all this time.

"Queen Shuriki, when I helped you invade Avalor, you promised me that no-one in my family would be hurt!" Esteban recalled.

"I also promised you power, and look at you now, _Chancellor Esteban_," She retorted. "Just be happy that I kept one of my promises or you'll wind up like your aunt and uncle."

"You wanted to see me, your grace?" The head guard entered the room.

"I don't want to see anyone until those princesses are found!" Shuriki spat.

"Hey there, Shuriki!" Luna flew into the room. "Long time, no see!"

"I've put up with you buzzards outside, but not in my palace!" Shuriki fired blasts from her wand.

"But it's so comfy in here!" Luna dodged the blasts. "Ooh, here's a nice little perch!" She landed on Shuriki's throne.

"Get off my throne!" Shuriki yelled. "Vadishima!"

But Luna leapt off the throne.

"Missed me!" She taunted.

"Capture that beast!" Shuriki ordered.

"You heard the Queen!" Esteban told the guard. "Move!"

"Yes, sir!" The guard obeyed as they all left the room.

Mateo then entered the empty room, walking up to the enchanted painting.

"Okay, let's see this spell," He unfurled a scroll. "Whoa. 'Tala-key-waly'? Oh boy, that's a tongue twister." He sat down indian style and took out his tamborita and drum stick.

"Mateo." Elena whispered, as she and the others entered, which startled him.

"Oh, it's you." Mateo sighed in relief. For a second he thought it was Shuriki.

"Isabel..." Elena glanced at the painting. "You have to get them out, Mateo. Now!"

"Okay, here we go." Mateo sighed once more and started tapping his tamborita. "Tila-key-waly apatua. Tila-key-waly aparasel. Tila-key-waly five!"

The painting glowed and a cloud of blue smoke appeared. When the smoke cleared, Elena's grandparents and little sister appeared before them.

"Isabel!" Elena gasped.

"Elena!" Isabel hugged her sister.

"I missed you so much!" Elena smiled. "Let me just..." She wiped the dirt off Isabel's cheek.

"You're safe." Isabel smiled.

"Abuelo! Abeula!" Elena hugged her grandparents.

"The palace looks so different." Her grandfather, Francisco, mused.

"Where is Shuriki?" Her grandmother, Luisa, asked.

"She's still here." Elena sighed.

"I never should have let Alacazar put us in that painting!" Luisa declared.

"Can we talk about this later?" Elena asked. "We have to go!"

They all rushed outside, where Cielo and several Jaquins were waiting.

"Everyone hurry!" Elena urged. "Get on a Jaquin!"

"Whoa, Princess!" Skylar frowned. "You should have given me a head count. Some of you are gonna have to double up!"

"These Jaquins will take your family back to your ship," Elena told Roland. "We're taking the others."

"Since when do people ride Jaquins?" Francisco asked as he mounted Migs while Hiccup and Carlos got on their dragons.

"Don't get used to it." Migs snorted. Elena helped Luisa mount Migs.

"I'm not running away from Shuriki again, Elena." Luisa frowned.

"We're not running away, abeula." Elena declared. "You'll see."

One by one, the Jaquins along with the dragon riders took off from the castle balcony.

"I'm going to stay and help Elena." Sofia declared she and Amber shared a Jaquin.

"What?!" Amber yelped. "If I knew that, I'd have gotten on another bird thingy!"

"We should help too, Rollie." Miranda suggested.

"I intend to," Roland nodded. "But the children should return to the ship where it's safe."

"We'll be okay, dad." Sofia smiled.

"We won't be alone." Hiccup assured Roland.

"Everyone's coming." Carlos stated.

"What do you mean, 'everyone'?" Roland asked.

In the streets, the three citizens who had come to Mateo's house were recruiting others.

"Come on, we're going to the castle!" The old man urged.

"Viva Avalor!" The other man smiled.

"Viva Avalor!" The crowd cheered, as they grew in numbers and marched toward the palace. "Avalor! Avalor!"

* * *

Back at the palace, Luna was still distracting Shuriki with her taunting. Luna was enjoying every minute of it.

"Hey Shuriki, I'm getting a little lonely up here!" Luna flew around a window.

"You again!" Shuriki growled. "Vadishima!"

"Too slow!" Luna taunted.

"Vadishima!" Shuriki snarled.

"Missed me again!" Luna smirked. "You'll have to aim better than that if you're gonna zap me!"

"Oh, I will, you pest!" Shuriki spat. "Vadishima!"

Luna dodged the blast, which shattered the window.

"Nice shot, Shuriki!" Luna winked. "Well, it's been a blast distractin' ya, but I'm outta here!"

Luna flew out of the broken window.

"D-Distracting me?" Shuriki frowned. "What is she talking about, Esteban?"

The sound of chanting filtered through the broken window.

"What is that sound?" Shuriki asked.

A trio of guards entered the room.

"They're coming, your majesty." One declared.

"Who's coming?" Shuriki inquired.

"All of Avalor." The guard answered.

The chanting grew loudly.

"Is that... _singing_?" Shuriki gasped.

The citizens sang as they approached.

_And so we will march_

_To the palace once more_

_To bring back the freedom_

_Of all Avalor_

_We spent our whole lives_

_Waiting just for this day_

_And nothing_

_No, nothing_

_Will stand in our way_

_This is our time_

_Together as one we won't fail_

_This is our time_

_Together as one, we'll prevail_

_Our time_

_To honor our family and friends_

_Our time_

_This is our time_

_This is our time_

_This is our time_

_This is our time_

_Once again_

Two guards stood before the advancing mob, wielding spears

"Halt!" One yelled.

"Stop right there!" The other commanded.

"I'll take care of them." Roland unsheathed his sword. "Brace yourself, Miranda!"

"Whoa!" Miranda yelped, as their Jaquin dived downward.

The two guards fled in a fear before they even came close.

"They've locked the gate!" Elena declared. "We have to break it down!"

"Or we can fly around the other side and open it." Sofia suggested.

"Actually, I got a better idea." Carlos suggested, "Fire!" Carlos ordered, pointing at the gate. Cielo shot a fire ball at the gate which made the two jumped to the sides.

"That'll work, too." Elena nodded.

"Good boy." Carlos patted Cielo's neck. Cielo crooned at the compliment.

Elena, the royal family's Jaquins, and the dragon riders flew into the courtyard, sending more guards running. Elena, Roland, and Sofia leapt off. The citizens of Avalor marched into the palace. Three guards approached. Roland drew his sword as the citizens neared. Cielo landed on the right side of Roland while Toothless landed on his left, growling at the guards.

"**Stand aside!**" Toothless and Cielo growled.

"Stay together!" Elena instructed. "Stay strong!"

"Stay firm, men!" One guard instructed, as they backed away while the crowd was coming towards them.

"Stop, in the name of the Queen!" Another yelled. Shuriki, Esteban, and Armando entered the courtyard.

"Stop them!" Shuriki ordered.

"There's just too many!" One guard yelled. The two dragons roared at the guards, which caused them to flee in fright.

"Retreat!" Another yelped, as they fled. "Run!"

"I'll just be going now!" Armando ran to join the crowd.

"Cowards!" Shuriki turned to the crowd. "Enough! Obstura!"

A bolt of magic from her wand flew up into the sky, creating dark purple storm clouds.

"Leave my palace at once!" Shuriki demanded.

"It's not your palace, Shuriki." Elena declared. "It's ours! And you can't stop all of us!"

"I don't have to." Shuriki smirked. "I only need to stop you!"

Shuriki raised her wand... but only for Esteban to grab her hand.

"Esteban, what are you doing?!" Shuriki gasped. Then she felt something pull her wand from her grasp. She looked up and saw a little green dragon holding onto her wand. Sharpshot went over to Hiccup and dropped the wand into his hand.

"Here ya go, Elena." Hiccup said as he handed the wand to Elena.

"Gracias." Elena thanked and held the wand in front of her.

"You can't use the wand on me, girl!" Shuriki sneered.

"Maybe so," Elena agreed. "But let's see how powerful you are without it."

Elena held the wand in front of her and snapped it into two pieces.

"No!" Shuriki screamed.

Streams of light flew out of the wand and briefly enveloped Shuriki in blue smoke as she fell to her knees. Shuriki rapidly aged; her dark hair became white and her face had wrinkles and liver spots on it.

"Nooo!" She cried.

The storm clouds parted, the sun shined as flowers sprouted all over Avalor.

Elena approached the weakened aged sorceress.

"Shuriki, your reign is over!" She announced.

"No!" Shuriki yelled in anger as she stood up and ran from Elena. The crowd gasped at her changed appearance. When she reached the castle walls, she realized she had nowhere to go. As she looked at the crowd, she backed away and fell off the edge, down into the waters below. "Nooo!"

Elena, Sofia, Carlos, and Hiccup looked over the edge. They were shocked that Shuriki would do such a thing. Francisco placed a hand on Elena's shoulder.

"She's gone, Elena." He declared. "We won!"

"After all these years!" Elena hugged him.

"All hail the rightful heir of Avalor!" Esteban announced. "Princess Elena!"

The crowd cheered Elena's name. They were relieved that Shuriki was gone forever. However, Hiccup felt that this wasn't the end of Shuriki. But he'll put that thought away for now. For now, the people of Avalor were free of the dark sorceress.

"Wait, I'm in charge of the kingdom now?" Elena gasped. She was surprised that she would be the ruler of Avalor.

"You are the eldest child." Francisco pointed out. "The crown goes to you."

"It does?" Elena gasped.

"You will be a great ruler, Elena." Luisa smiled as she placed her hands on her shoulders. "And you'll have your grandfather and I to help you, so there's nothing to worry about. Now go and address your people."

"Right." Elena nodded. "Address my people. Okay..." She walked through the crowd while holding Sofia's hand. "Hello. Hi. How are you? Hey there."

Elena stopped as she reached the Enchancia royal family with the dragon riders beside them.

"And thank you for everything." Elena told Sofia. Then she looked to the dragon riders. "And to you as well."

"Think nothing of it." Hiccup admitted with his arms crossed as he smiled.

"Don't mention it." Carlos added with his hands on his hips while smiling.

"**You're welcome**." The three dragons crooned.

"I guess this belong to you." Sofia said as she took off her amulet and held it out to Elena.

"Sofia, I want you to have it." Elena put the amulet back on around Sofia's neck. "For all you've done for Avalor. Besides, I think I've seen enough of that amulet for a lifetime."

"Thank you, Elena." Sofia smiled as she hugged Elena, "For everything."

A short while later, the citizens of Avalor cheered as Elena ascended the castle steps, greeted by Esteban.

"Thank you, cousin." Elena smiled. "For a moment, I wasn't sure whose side you were on."

"I was always on our side." Esteban declared. "But I could not let Shuriki find a way to destroy that painting. Our family was in there. And so, I pretended to follow her, to keep them safe. I hope you understand, Elena."

Amber, James, and Isabel descended on Jaquins. Amber and James hugged their parents.

"Elena!" Isabel hugged her sister.

"Isa!" Elena hugged her back.

* * *

While the people were happy for the princess's return, they didn't know that down in the waters, Shuriki pulled herself above the surface, gasping for air. She will have her revenge of Princess Elena and her friends. She will rule Avalor once more. One way or another.

* * *

Meanwhile, a young boy handed Armando a flag and handed it to Esteban who raised the flag on a pole, which was the old Avaloran banner with symbols of Jaquins on it. Skylar, Migs, and Luna circled around it, before landing in front of Elena.

"Any time you need a ride, Princess, I'm your Jaquin." Skylar smiled.

"Let every bell in Avalor ring." Elena told the crowd. "We are free!"

The crowd cheered as the bells rung their beautiful melody and the dragons let out a mighty roar.

"How's that?" Elena whispered to Isabelle.

"Great!" Isabel hugged her.

The Enchancian royal family and the dragon riders applauded.

* * *

It was night time in the kingdom of Avalor. Hiccup, Toothless, Sharpshot, and Cielo were sitting in the garden of Mateo's home. Hiccup couldn't believe the two days they spent here in Avalor. Finding a Stormcutter, meeting new friends, encountering a spirit, freeing a princess from a magical amulet, and defeating an evil sorceress. He didn't think such things would happen when he and Toothless landed here. Then he heard footsteps coming up from behind him. He turned around and saw Carlos standing there.

"Hey Carlos, what are you doing up?" Hiccup asked as Carlos sat next to Cielo.

"I was just thinking." Carlos replied.

"About what?" Hiccup asked.

"When are you leaving Avalor?" Carlos questioned.

"When Elena becomes the new ruler." Hiccup answered, shrugged.

"Oh," Carlos said, "You wouldn't mind if Cielo and I went with you?"

"**I want to find my mom. She might be out there somewhere.**" Cielo pointed out, "**So can we go with you guys?**"

"I wouldn't mind at all." Hiccup said as he smiled.

"**It'll be great to have more dragons**." Toothless and Sharpshot warbled with excitement.

Carlos and Cielo smiled in returned. They were all excited about their future adventures. Tomorrow would be a new day in Avalor.

* * *

_The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph._

\- Thomas Paine


	9. Noblins

Chapter 9: Noblins

It had only been a week since everything became peaceful in the kingdom of Avalor. Right now it was a beautiful day for flying and Migs the Jaquin was flying around the harbor. It was an early morning for him. He didn't like waking up this early, but two certain jaquins decided to wake him up.

"On your left!" Skylar yelled as he flew past him, almost ruining his gliding.

"Skylar!" Migs yelled.

"Look out!" Luna taunted as she flew past him, almost messing up Migs's flying.

"Luna, come on! It is too early for these shenanigans!" Migs shouted.

"WWhhooaa hoho!" Skylar shouted with excitement, "What are you so cranky about, Migs? Evil queen is gone, the majesty of Avalor has returned, aaannd we're back on the flag!" He flew up to the flag that was attached to a nearby ship and mimicking a pose from the flag with two Jaquins facing in opposite directions while wiggling his eye brows, "Strike a pose!"

"Ugh!" Migs grunted and shook his head with a frown.

Suddenly, two blurs went past them. The three jaquins shook their heads and tried to figure out what those blurs were.

"What was that?" Migs asked, looked all around.

"Don't know, but they sure were fast." Skylar commented.

"You guys talking about us?"

The three jaquins looked up and saw the two dragon riders flying above them. The three flew up to the front of them.

"Why are you guys up so early?" Luna asked.

The boys simply pointed at their dragon's head to answer her question.

"Oh, I see." Luna said, realizing why they were up early.

"Toothless likes to do early morning flights. So he always wakes me up early. He was lucky that he didn't wake Rafa and Mateo." Hiccup complained.

"Cielo popped up near my window this morning. Almost gave me a heart attack because he wanted to fly as well." Carlos added.

"Why can't Toothless fly by himself, Hiccup?" Skylar asked.

"He can't. He needs me to ride him in order to control his tail fin." Hiccup pointed out as he gestured Toothless's prosthetic tail fin.

"Whoa, what happened to his tail fin?" Luna asked.

"He lost it in an accident." Hiccup answered, "So I made him one so that he can fly again."

"Brilliant idea, Hiccup!" Migs commented.

"I'll say," Carlos added, "I never would have thought of that even if I tried."

"Don't say that, Carlos," Hiccup stated, "I know your skills about trading will come in handy soon."

"Thanks, Hiccup." Carlos said and looked at the three jaquins. "Well, we gotta get going. Hiccup is taking lessons from Mateo and I."

"Really?" Skylar asked.

"Why don't you just go to school?" Migs asked.

"I'm still learning how to read and write Spanish." Hiccup admitted, "So if I want to study Avalor's culture, I have to learn how to do all that."

"Understandable." Migs nodded.

"Don't worry, Hiccup. You're getting the hang of the writing part. Pretty soon, you'll be able to do it without our help." Carlos assured.

"Hey, let's go see if Princess Elena's up." Luna suggested, flying off.

"Great idea!" Skylar agreed, following Luna.

"Uh-uh! No way you two!" Migs yelled.

"See you guys later." Hiccup said before he and Carlos flew off.

"We will!" Migs yelled before going after Skylar and Luna, "It's bad enough that you've woke me up!"

* * *

Mateo and Carlos were teaching Hiccup about their language and culture. Hiccup was very intrigued by all of this. He wanted to learn how to read and write Spanish first before he could do more exploring around Avalor. Right now Hiccup, Carlos, and Mateo were in the garden, along with the dragons, practicing how to read Spanish.

"How is your day going?" Hiccup translated the sentences that Carlos wrote in Spanish for him.

"It's good." Carlos answered.

"What are you doing later?" Hiccup asked.

"I plan on riding Cielo." Carlos replied.

"Oh, he'll like that. But don't forget to get him fish afterwards." Hiccup noted.

"Okay, let's take a break." Carlos suggested. Hiccup put the papers to the side and let a sigh of relief.

"Well done, Hiccup. You've already gotten the hang of it." Mateo complimented.

"Thanks, I've always liked learning about new things." Hiccup said as Toothless walked over and placed his head on Hiccup's lap.

"What did your people liked to learn, Hiccup?" Carlos asked as Cielo came over and sat by Carlos's side.

"New ways to kill dragons." Hiccup answered, bitterly, as he petted Toothless's head.

"I think it's cruel how dragons are treated like that." Mateo commented as he petted Sharpshot who was lying comfortably in his lap.

"Well Red Death was mostly the cause of the three-hundred year war between Vikings and dragons. So Vikings really wanted to kill every single dragon they come across." Hiccup pointed out, "My dad made it his mission to find the dragon's nest and destroy it."

"Really?" Carlos asked, petting Cielo.

"Yeah, but every time someone wants to go after the nest, few ships come back or don't come back at all." Hiccup stated.

"To my point of view, that's a suicide mission." Mateo said, "Why send more and more ships when you obviously know that they might not come back?"

"I agree with you, Mateo." Hiccup agreed, "But Vikings have stubbornness issues."

"That must a _really_ hard problem to deal with." Carlos commented.

"Yeah, my father is the most stubborn Viking of them all." Hiccup added.

Then they heard a knock at the gate.

"Who could that be?" Carlos pondered.

"Don't know." Hiccup answered.

"I'll go see who it is." Mateo said as he stood up, with Sharpshot perched on his left shoulder, and walked over to the gate. When he got there, he saw a familiar face.

"Princess Elena!" Mateo yelled with glee.

"Mateo?" A female voice asked.

"Naomi?" Mateo asked, brow arched, when he noticed another girl next to Elena. The boys got up from the ground and walked over to the gate with their dragons following them to see who else was at the gate. They were able to get a good look at the Naomi girl.

She had short blonde hair, deep aqua eyes, and faint freckles across her cheeks. She wore a deep bluish-green bodice with strong green lining and decorated with flowers at the bottom, that go over a white top and a brilliant green skirt with a deep bluish-green strip that goes around the lower part. She had black boots and wore a dark red belt around her waist. She wore a patchwork choker necklace decorated with three turquoise gemstones dangling from the front around her neck. Around her left arm, she was wearing a braided cord bracelet with similar gemstones on her necklace.

"You two know each other?" Elena asked, gesturing the two of them.

"Sort of." Naomi replied.

"We go to school together." Mateo pointed out.

"What's that on your shoulder?" Naomi asked.

"Oh, this is Sharpshot. He's a dragon." Mateo answered.

Toothless came over and Elena began petting him.

"Hey, Toothless." Elena greeted. Toothless crooned at the attention he was getting from the princess.

"Okay, who is that?" Naomi asked as she pointed at Toothless who was pressing himself against Elena.

"Oh, this is Toothless." Elena introduced, gesturing Toothless who was looking at Naomi with curiosity. Then Hiccup and Carlos were at the gate.

"My name is Hiccup. Toothless is a good friend of mine." Hiccup stated. Carlos walked up with Cielo behind him.

"And this is Cielo." Carlos added.

"Nice to meet you all." Naomi stated.

"Not to be rude or anything, but I need your help, Mateo. It's an emergency." Elena declared.

Mateo led the boys and girls into the cellar where Alacazar's things were.

"What's with the bathrobe?" Naomi asked.

"Mateo is a wizard." Hiccup stated.

"In training." Mateo added.

"Since when?" Naomi asked.

"Since always. I just had to keep it a secret before." Mateo said as he walked the ladder to the bookshelf, "My grandfather, Alacazar, wrote all about the magical creatures in the kingdom when he was a royal wizard." He grabbed a book and fell backwards. Luckily, Hiccup and Elena caught him before he could hit the ground. He nervously laughed at his stunt and stood back on his feet.

"Aha, thanks," Mateo placed the book on the table and opened the middle of the book as everyone gathered around him, "Okay what did these creatures look like?"

"Uh, purple, right, with pointy ears." Elena said, pointing at her own ears.

"And spots." Naomi added.

"Hhmm, that sounds familiar." Mateo said as he began looking through the pages.

"Oh, that's them!" Naomi said, pointing at the picture of the creatures.

"Noblins?" Carlos questioned, brow arched, looking at the page.

"Uh huh, Noblins are magical shapeshifters. They can transform into dogs and have the power to turn objects into gold." Mateo read out loud the facts about "noblins".

"I wish I had that power." Naomi admitted, nudging Mateo.

"That's an ability I don't really want." Hiccup commented with his arms crossed.

"Why?" Naomi pondered.

"If people, greedy people in fact, found out about that you had ability, there's bound to be trouble heading your way." Hiccup added.

"Good point." Naomi agreed, tapping he chin. Then Elena gasped.

"Look here," Elena pointed at the picture of a ship going down a river, "It says that the Noblins live deep in the jungle and stray far from home."

"Then what were they doing in the city?" Mateo asked.

"Stealing ships, apparently." Naomi replied.

"I have a feeling that Shuriki must have kept them prisoners." Hiccup inquired.

"How did you come up with that, Hiccup?" Elena asked.

"Remember, they're able to turn objects into gold? Shuriki would have been _very_ interested in those with that ability. They've probably been in the dungeon for the past forty-one years. When Shuriki was defeated, they must have left the dungeon and went looking for a way to get home."

"You know, that does make a lot of sense. Seeing that she had a diamond throne chair when she was in power," Carlos agreed, "She must have taken them from their home in order to get them to turn anything into gold."

"Maybe that's where they're headed," Elena pointed at the picture again, "That's why we didn't see the ships on the ocean because they took them up the river! That's where we should look!" Elena concluded, heading out of the cellar.

"Then let's go!" Hiccup and Carlos declared, following after Elena.

"Mateo, can you come with? We might need some magical assistance." Elena suggested as Mateo grabbed his tamborita.

"I'm your wizard!" Mateo said, swinging his tamborita before it hit him in the face, "Ow."

* * *

The Jaquins with their passengers along with the dragon riders followed Elena on Skylar towards the river near the jungle. Hiccup could clearly see that Elena was very worried about her little sister, Isabel. There were times when he wished that he had an older sibling who would worry about him. However, it felt like Toothless was his brother and was always trying to keep Hiccup out of trouble. That was difficult considering their trip might include a lot of dangerous situations.

"Elena, there's a fork in the river!" Mateo shouted, pointing ahead of them where they saw the river split into two different directions, "Which way do we go?"

"We could split up." Naomi suggested.

"No, wait! There's something in the water!" Elena said and Skylar flew closer to what was in the water.

"How dare they litter our beautiful kingdom?!" Skylar exclaimed.

"No, it's, uh, it's a page from Isabel's journal!" Elena realized as she pointed at the trail of sheets of paper in the river, "She must be leaving us a trail!"

Then they group followed the trail of papers to a small cove where they spotted the missing ships.

"There they are!" Elena said when they spotted the ships.

"What's the plan?" Mateo asked.

"First, we untie Isabel and Gabe and then we get our ship back!" Elena said with a clenched fist and flew down on Skylar.

"Yeah, but how?" Naomi pondered.

"Truth be told, that doesn't really seem like a plan since we don't know how the noblins are going to react when they see us." Hiccup commented.

"Don't worry," Mateo assured them as he took out his tamborita, "I have few tricks up my sleeve."

"You've been waiting all day to say that, haven't you?" Naomi teased.

"Maybe." Mateo said with a grin.

"Good grief." Carlos muttered.

"Elena!" Isabel yelled when she spotted Elena swooping in on Skylar.

Elena jumped off Skylar and grabbed Gabe's sword (that was left on deck) and cut the ropes.

"Isa!" Elena yelled as Isabel leaped into her arms and held her close to her. Then she held her cheeks.

"You came for me." Isabel said with a soft smile.

"I'm _never_ losing you again." Elena promised with a soft smile.

Gabe rushed past Isabel and Elena and grabbed his sword. He crouched down in front of the two girls as Elena pulled Isabel close to her. The dragon riders, Migs, and Luna landed on deck.

"Get on the Jaquins! I'll hold them off until you're safe." Gabe ordered as he swung his sword at the noblins. Elena quickly picked up Isabel and ran over to Hiccup and Toothless.

"Hiccup! Carlos! Protect Isabel!" Elena ordered Hiccup as she sat in front of Hiccup.

"You got it!" Hiccup and Carlos nodded.

"What are you doing?" Isabel questioned.

"Getting back our ship!" Elena stated with determination. She walked over to the noblins as Toothless and Cielo along with Skylar left the deck and flew above the ship.

"As a future queen of Avalor, I order you to leave this vessel at once!" Elena ordered.

"I will not let my noblins be captured again!" One of the noblins, who looked to be the leader of the noblins, protested.

"Again?" Elena questioned, brow arched.

"I don't think it was a good idea to order them." Carlos commented.

"Why?" Isabel asked.

"I think that Shuriki had order them around too much and because of that they don't seem to like authority." Hiccup added.

"You might have a point there." Isabel agreed.

Suddenly, the leader of the noblins leaped forward and cloaked himself in gold light. When the light disappeared, there stood a dog with the features of a noblin. He started barking and growling at her.

"Okay that's interesting." Hiccup commented, interested.

"I'll say." Carlos stated, interested as well.

"Stay back!" Elena demanded as she picked up a bucket to defend herself. Mateo quickly got off Migs and went to her side and pointed his tamborita at the noblin.

"Vetzi!" Mateo recited a spell, slapping the tamborita.

A whip lash of gold light hit the noblin, but it only stunned the creature for a second. Then a noblin latched onto Mateo and Elena, who tried to get them off of themselves. Another latched on Mateo's arm. Soon three jumped onto Migs's back.

"Great, now everyone wants a ride!" Migs complained, trying to get the noblins off of him.

"Nah, uh. None of you are getting on my back." Luna declared, who had Naomi on her back, backing away from the three noblins in front of her.

"Seriously, Princess! You should just go!" Gabe argued with Elena who was struggling with the noblin attached on her bucket. Luckily she was able to get him off.

"I'm not going anywhere!" Elena protested.

"It's my job to protect you!" Gabe stated.

"And it's _my_ job to protect everyone!" Elena declared.

At that moment, a noblin came up from behind Gabe and covered his eyes, which caused him to stab his sword into the mast. Another noblin tried to grab Elena's bucket, however that caused her to miss and let go of the bucket. Soon another noblin jumped into the air, covering himself in a gold light, and a noblin dog landed in Elena's arms. The Noblin dog turned to Elena with puppy dog eyes.

"Aaaww." Elena gushed at the cute creature.

Then two other noblins came up and pushed her, tripping her with two other noblins behind her.

"Throw her overboard!" The Noblin leader commanded, pointing at the side of the deck.

"WHAT?!" Elena gasped in panic.

The four noblins carried her as she struggled to get out of their grip and were about throw her overboard until two scaly arms grabbed her and pulled her away from the noblins. Elena looked up and saw Toothless staring at her with his signature gummy smile.

"Toothless!" Elena exclaimed happily.

He flew over to the sails and gently placed her near the crow's nest.

"You okay?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Elena confirmed.

"Good, I'll go help the others." Hiccup stated before going back down towards the deck.

Toothless came in and swiped all three noblins off of Migs with his tail.

"Thanks, Toothless." Migs smiled with relief. Toothless crooned with a gummy smile. Cielo appeared near Luna's side and roared at the three noblins, scaring them away.

"Thanks, Cielo." Luna thanked. Cielo crooned with a smile. The noblins soon retaliated.

Elena sighed in helplessness as she saw her friends trying to fight off the noblins. She didn't think that she would run into this kind of trouble. How was she going to able to help her friends?

"So, you have time for my advice now?"

Elena gasped at the familiar voice and saw Zuzo floating right next to her.

"Zuzo, you have to help me save my friends!" Elena declared.

"First things first," Zuzo disappeared and reappeared in front of her, "Why are you in such a rush?"

"Because they're in trouble!" Elena stated.

"No, no, no! I mean why have you been rushing all day?" Zuzo elaborated, gesturing her point.

"Oh, uh, well I was trying to prove that I'm ready to rule now!" Elena said.

"And how's _that_ working out for ya?" Zuzo examined his nails.

"Not so well." Elena admitted.

"Hm," Zuzo hummed, "Did you ever stop and think why the Noblins took the ships in the first place?"

"No, but you're right. I should have. Hiccup and Carlos had been telling me the answer all along and I recklessly went in to stop them," Elena grunted in disappointment, "I was so busy trying to prove that I could be a great queen, I forgot to act like one. My grandfather was right. I'm not ready to rule."

"But are you ready to _learn_?" Zuzo questioned, "Cause that's all that matters! Just take your time and you'll do great!"

Elena pondered at his words and smiled at him. Zuzo was really a great spirit animal with a lot of wisdom.

"Thanks for the advice, Zuzo." Elena complimented.

"Ah, giving advice is easy," Zuzo pointed out, "_Taking_ it is the tough part."

Zuzo then disappeared. Elena was really glad that Zuzo was able to give good advice. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard her friends still fighting the noblins.

"Wait!" Elena quickly grabbed onto a nearby rope and slid down on it to land on the deck and held her hands out in submission, "Please don't hurt my friends! I'm just coming down to talk!"

"About what?" A noblin asked, suspicious of the princess.

"I am Princess Elena." Elena curtsied in front of the leader.

"I am Jiku, leader of the Noblins." 'Jiku' introduced.

"Jiku, I should've asked you before, but are you taking our ships because you're trying to get home?" Elena asked.

"Yes, we were. The old queen took us and locked us up in your city for many years." Jiku explained.

"Because of your ability?" Elena pondered.

"Yes, we have the _golden touch_. Shuriki forced us to turn all sorts of things to gold to make her rich. But then, one day, the bars of our prison vanished. We were free. But we were so far from home, in a strange city, and I had to get my fellow noblins to safety. The ships were the quickest way." Jiku concluded.

"I had no idea." Elena confessed, sadly.

"The reason you're all free is because Elena defeated that evil queen." Gabe announced.

"I had no idea." Jiku admitted with droopy ears.

"Well, now that we know what's really going on, I have a royal decree to make. Jiku, you can borrow our ships to take you home, as long as we get them back after." Elena declared.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Jiku bowed at Elena and turned to the noblins, "Noblins, we're going home!"

Soon all of the noblins cheered and thanked Elena for letting them borrow the ships. They were finally going home. The Jaquins and dragon riders landed on deck. Naomi placed her hand on Elena's shoulder and Mateo went back to her side. Her friends were proud of her.

"Speaking of home, we should get going if we wanna make it back in time for the ball." Gabe pointed out as he put his sword back in its sheath. The others cringed at the mention of the ball. They couldn't believe that they almost forgot about the ball.

"Right. The ball." Elena panicked.

* * *

Meanwhile, Elena grandparents and Esteban were in the court yard. They were all worried about Elena taking off to find Isabel who was captured by noblins. Francisco was holding his wife's hand, Luisa, giving her comfort that the girls would return safely and unharmed.

"And what was I supposed to do? She just took off on the jaquin." Esteban exasperated as he walked back and forth. Then Francisco and Luisa spotted something coming towards them.

"Look, it's Elena and Isabel!" Francisco gasped as the jaquins with passengers and the dragon riders landed in the court yard.

"Abuela!" Isabel yelled as she got off Skylar and ran towards her grandparents. She jumped into Luisa's arms and Luisa hugged her back.

"I'm so glad you're safe." Luisa said with a smile. She was relieved that none of her granddaughters were harmed.

"Elena saved us!" Isabel beamed at what had happened earlier. She soon went into detail of the events that involved her rescue. Hiccup took a glance at Francisco and saw him gaze at Elena with proudness in his eyes. He had heard that Elena was going to become queen. But Isabel told him that she'll be Crowned Princess instead because she wasn't ready to rule the kingdom. It somehow explained her actions on the ship. She was trying to prove herself and she did it well. Hiccup was always trying to prove himself when he lived on Berk. But no one would want to listen to him since he was small and scrawny. Not to mention that most of his inventions caused disaster towards the villagers. He began to wonder if he would be able to prove that hiccups are capable of great things.

* * *

It was night of the ball. Elena would be given the title of crowned princess.

"Princess Elena Castillo Flores, do you swear to protect and defend the kingdom of Avalor?" Armando asked as he placed the tiara on her head. She gave a confident smile towards the crowd until her eyes met with Francisco who smiled at her proudly. She turned the other way for a moment and looked towards the crowd once more.

"Um, before I answer that, there's something I'd like to say. Today, I set out to prove that I was ready to be queen of Avalor, and I learned that I have a lot to learn before I become queen. So with that in mind, I am ready to appoint my Grand Council." Elena said as she stepped down from the small stage and walked up to her grandmother. Esteban clears his throat, hoping that Elena would choose him to be on her council.

"Luisa, my grandmother," Elena held Luisa's hand as she placed hers over Elena's "because you always find a way to look on the bright side of things, no matter how dark it gets." Elena walked over to Naomi.

"Naomi Turner." Elena acknowledged.

"Me?" Naomi gasped.

"Her?!" Esteban exclaimed.

"Today you gave me great advice," Elena placed her hand on her shoulder, "and wouldn't stop trying to get me to take it. I could use your common sense and resolve on my council." Elena decided before walking to her next council member.

"I'm on the Grand Council. I am on the Grand Council!" Naomi beamed.

"That's my Naomi." Naomi's father, Daniel Turner, smiled.

Elena stopped in front of her cousin, Esteban as he stood up straight, making sure to look presentable.

"Chancellor Esteban. You know so much about the kingdom and everyone in it. I would be foolish not to seek your expertise." Elena admitted.

"Yes, this is true." Esteban stated, stroking his chin. Elena walked up to her grandfather.

"And finally, my grandfather, Francisco. The wisest person I know." Elena smiled as she placed her hand on his shoulder. Francisco did the same gesture.

"Today, you acted like a true queen." Francisco approved.

"And one day, I hope to be." Elena stated before she walked back up the small staged and gazed at the crowd, "But today, I vow to protect and defend the kingdom of Avalor as Crown Princess."

Armando went over to a small podium which had a blue extravagant pillow where a beautiful gold scepter that had a medium sized blue jewel on the top. He carefully picked it up and handed it over to Elena. Once she held onto it, the scepter glowed in an ocean blue color. Everyone gasped at the light that was coming from the scepter.

"Uh, is it supposed to do this?" Elena questioned, uncertain at what had just happened with the scepter.

"It's never glowed like that before." Francisco observed. The sound of doors opening drew everyone's attention away from the princess and saw three certain jaquins and three dragons flew into the room. The two dragons actually jumped and ran towards their riders.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived!" Skylar announced.

"Hi, Elena!" Luna greeted.

"We're still invited, right?" Migs asked.

"Toothless! Sharpshot!" Hiccup yelled as Toothless landed in front of him and Sharpshot landed on his shoulder.

"Cielo!" Carlos yelled as Cielo landed in front of him.

The boys hugged their dragons with smiles on both faces. Elena laughed a little and smiled while waving at the crowd.

"It is my honor to present Crown Princess Elena of Avalor." Armando announced as he stepped away. Everyone in the crowd applauded at the crowned princess. Elena was smiling brightly at them. She knew that she would have many challenges ahead. But as long as she has her friends, she'll be able to do anything.

"Not bad for your first day." Zuzo complimented as he appeared by Elena's side with his paws behind his head while leaning back, "But are you ready for day _two_?"

"Are _you_?" Elena grinned at the spirit animal.

"Oh, this is gonna be fun." Zuzo admitted with a smile.

* * *

Most of the boys (Hiccup, Carlos, and Mateo) along with the dragons were out on the balcony, looking over the harbor.

"Interesting turn of events today, huh?" Hiccup asked.

"I'll say, I never thought that we would be going up against noblins!" Carlos said.

"But I can't believe my magic had no effect on them." Mateo pouted.

"Don't worry, you'll get another chance, Mateo." Carlos said.

"You think so?" Mateo asked.

"I know so." Hiccup answered.

"By the way, how are the small lessons going?" Carlos asked.

"Pretty good so far. I also managed to find a forge nearby in town to make a few changes on Toothless's tail fin." Hiccup said.

"I figured you would find that place as soon as you got here." Carlos commented.

"I agree, if you were able to make a good prosthetic tail fin for Toothless, then I can almost imagine how much more improved it will be once you finished." Mateo added.

"Thanks, guys." Hiccup said. Then he decided to ask a question that's been bugging him for a while, "Hey guys, do you think being different is a good thing?"

"What do you mean, Hiccup?" Carlos asked.

"Nearly my whole life, nobody liked me because I was different." Hiccup stated as he looked up at the sky, "My father couldn't stand me because of that and he probably never will. I just… want to prove to him that hiccups are capable of doing great things that could help improve people's lives. But he and the others won't." Hiccup concluded.

"I know that you and Toothless will be able to change the world someday, Hiccup." Carlos assured.

"Yeah," Mateo agreed, "If you were able to tame a dragon, I can imagine how you'll be able to make a place where Vikings and dragons can coexist."

"Not to mention that your mother said that she's glad that you're different from all the rest." Carlos confirmed.

Hiccup smiled at the two boys he first befriended when he arrived in Avalor. He knew that it won't be easy convincing people of the good side of dragons. But Vikings are stubborn and don't like change. Is it possible?

"Being different can be a good thing, Hiccup."

The boys turned towards the voice behind them and saw Francisco standing there.

"Francisco?" Hiccup asked as Francisco walked over to him.

"Those who are different can make _big_ changes in the world." Francisco advised as he stood in front of the boys, "They always start out small though. But if they have determination and loyal friends by their side to help them fight for their dreams, anything is possible."

"Thank you, Francisco." Hiccup smiled.

"You're welcome." Francisco returned the gesture.

* * *

_You prove your worth with your actions, not with your mouth._

\- Jean Paul


	10. Departure

Chapter 10: Departure

A/N:

'**Dragons**' – Dragonese

* * *

Hiccup and Carlos along with their dragons were ready to leave beyond the land of Avalor. The two knew that their friends didn't want them to leave, but they already made their decision. They both had their own reason of going.

"I'm going to miss Avalor." Carlos said as he was placing the last of his bags onto Cielo's saddle.

"I know, but we'll come back here someday, Carlos." Hiccup reassured him, placing his last bag on Toothless's saddle.

"Thanks, Hiccup." Carlos said, "By the way, where are we going?"

"The Kingdom of Corona. I want to check out the sights there. I hear that they have a great festival there. I figured Cielo's mother might have landed there and maybe we'll discover some dragons as well." Hiccup answered.

"Well, it's a start. But what if she's not there?" Carlos asked.

"After that, we'll be going to Scotland. If we have no success, the kingdom of Arendelle is next. If no success, Rome will be the next destination for exploration and rest." Hiccup explained.

"What about after Rome?" Carlos questioned.

"We'll figure it out when we get there." Hiccup replied.

"Alright then." Carlos agreed.

* * *

Everyone was at the pier, saying their good byes to the two dragon riders. Hiccup had a hard time saying good bye to his new friends. He already liked it here in Avalor, but he knew that they would see each other again soon. But the one who had the hardest time saying good bye was Carlos. He grew up here after his parents died and his Aunt Rafa raised him like a son and become like a brother to Mateo.

"Good luck out there, Carlos." Rafa said, hugging Carlos.

"Don't worry, Aunt Rafa. As long as I am with Hiccup and our dragons, we'll be fine." Carlos reassured.

"I know, but I just worry is all." Rafa said as she released him while smiling.

Then Mateo walked up to him and hugged him.

"I'm going to miss you." Mateo said.

"I'm going to miss you as well, Mateo." Carlos said, tightened his hug before letting go.

Then Cielo walked up to the both of them and nudged Rafa and Mateo.

"You protect Carlos for me, Cielo." Rafa stated, placing her hand on his snout. Mateo also placed his hand on his snout.

"**Of course I will**." Cielo warbled.

The Cielo stood back and Hiccup and Toothless came up.

"We'll miss you two." Rafa said as she hugged Hiccup who hugged her in return and Toothless pressed his snout against her shoulder. Then the two let go of each other.

"We wish that you didn't have to leave us." Isabel said.

"I know, but we want to see what's beyond Avalor." Hiccup reasoned.

"Plus, we promised that we would help Cielo find his mother." Carlos said.

"Well, Avalor isn't going to the same without you guys." Gabe said.

"Just remember, you'll always be welcomed in Avalor." Elena stated.

"Thank you, Elena." Hiccup said.

Then the two boys mounted their dragons and hovered in front of the crowd. Then they flew up into the sky. They turned and waved good bye as they flew while their friends waved to them as the distance grew longer between them. They were off towards their next destination.

* * *

_Goodbyes are not forever, are not the end; it simply means I'll miss you until we meet again_.

\- Unknown


	11. A Tower in the Woods

Chapter 11: A Tower in the Woods

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

It's been three days since the dragon riders have left the kingdom of Avalor. They were now flying over the forest area of Corona, however, they haven't spotted the castle yet.

"So how far are we from Corona's castle?" Carlos asked.

"A few hours." Hiccup guessed.

They haven't spotted Cielo's mother yet. The boys knew how much Cielo wanted to find his mother. The thought of his mother being hurt or worse made them worry even more than usual. Suddenly they heard a manly scream and a horse neighing in panic nearby. The two humans looked at each other with confusion.

"Did you hear something?" Carlos asked.

"Yeah." Hiccup replied.

"I wonder what that was." Carlos pondered.

"Beats me," Hiccup shrugged, "Let's land for now."

They flew low to the ground and landed safely. The two dismounted their dragons and decided to walk on foot. As they walked, they noticed the huge scenary of green there was.

"I have to admit that this forest seems beautiful." Carlos commented, looking all around.

"Yeah, peaceful as well." Hiccup added.

Suddenly they heard rustling nearby. The dragon went into attacking stance, ready to protect their riders. Then a creature popped out of the bushes. What surprised them that the creature was a human to be exact. It was a man in average height and build with fair skin, short dark brown hair, a scruffy goatee, and light brown eyes. He wore a turquoise vest with a white long-sleeved shirt underneath, coupled with dark cream pants and brown bucket-top boots. He also wore a belt with a similar color scheme around his waist that was connected to a miniature satchel. The guy froze when he saw Toothless and Cielo in front of him along with Sharpshot on Hiccup's shoulder. The boys were somehow used to see this kind of reaction towards someone seeing dragons.

"Who are you?" Hiccup asked.

"Oh," The man said before he brushed himself off of all the leaves that stuck to him and stood straight with a cocky grin, "The name's Flynn Rider."

"Flynn?" Hiccup asked.

"Rider?" Carlos asked.

"That's me." Flynn smugly, pointing at himself with his thumb, "You've probably heard of me."

"No/**No**." The boy and dragons said in unison.

"What?" Flynn stared at the group with wide eyes, "Corona's famously handsome thief?"

"Nope." Hiccup replied.

"The most cunning thief of all time?"

"Nope." Carlos answered.

"Master of disguises?"

"Nope."

"Lady-killer extraordinaire?"

"Nope."

"So you've _never _heard of _me_?"

"Never." Hiccup and Carlos answered in unison with crossed arms in front of their chests.

Flynn sighed heavily at this. He never expected these youngsters to not hear of him. It came to him that they might be travelers from some faraway place. Suddenly he heard noises of a horse nearby. He cursed to himself as he held his satchel close to him.

"Are you in a hurry to get somewhere?" Hiccup remarked dryly.

"Kinda." Flynn grinned.

Then a white horse leaped out of the bushes and whinnied like it was a beast roaring which shocked the group for a second until they realized that the horse was staring Flynn for some kind of reason. The dragons made a face like they were raisin an eyebrow.

"**Really? You're running from **_**this**_**?"** The dragons said in unison.

"You're scared of a horse?" Hiccup asked with a deadpanned expression along with Carlos, Cielo, Sharpshot, and Toothless.

"Shut up." Flynn told them.

The horse came at him and Flynn yelped, running in the other direction which sent him bowling into the boys, knocking them both over. The boys pushed him off them and quickly stood back up. Flynn grabbed the boys by their arms.

"Don't just stand there like statues! Run!" He dragged the boys behind him and ignored their disgruntled yelling, only focusing on trying to get away from the homicidal horse. Flynn ran through the trees while dragging the two reluctant boys with the three dragons following them. Flynn took a sharp right and dragged the two boys behind a rock with him, covering their mouths when they were about to shout.

"Be quiet!" Flynn hissed and the two stayed silent beside him.

For several long and tense moments, the three listened to the horse on the other side of the boulder. Flynn relaxed when he heard the sound of hooves stomping off in the other direction. He sighed in relief and let the boys go. They shoved off Flynn's hands and stumbled away, brushing at the front of themselves.

"What was that for?!" Hiccup snapped angrily.

"_Sorry_." Flynn sarcastically as he rolled his eyes, pulling the satchel's strap over his head so it went across his body and fixed his hair.

"So what's next?" Carlos asked.

Then they heard hoof beats coming back towards them. The group looked frantically on where to hide.

"**Guys, over here!**" Sharpshot called out.

Hiccup looked over to where Sharpshot was and saw a rock wall with leaves and vines dangled over it. Just when he was about to point that out, the Terrible Terror went behind the wall of leaves and vines. The three humans and two dragons glanced at each other and followed after the little dragon. The entrance looked like a cave of some sort. They noticed a light up ahead and went towards it. What they saw at the end of it was unbelievable. It was a clearing with a rushing waterfall and trees around the area, but it in the middle of the clearing stood a tall, almost regal looking tower which reached from high into the sky, backlit by the morning sunlight and the waterfall. The tower had to be seventy feet high at least. It was built out of stone and brick, but the top most part was built out of wood. It had a small window with closed shutters and potted plants facing them.

"Well," Flynn remarked with his arms crossed in front of his chest as they gazed at the tower. "That's something you don't see every day."

"Ya' think?" Hiccup and Carlos asked in unison.

Then they heard the whining of a horse nearby. Having no other choice, the three decided to hide in the tower for the time being. The two riders signaled their dragons to hide nearby and out of sight. But Sharpshot stayed with Hiccup in case they needed a little bit of help. Flynn took out two arrows that the guards shot at him and used them as portable hand holds to climb up with Hiccup and Carlos behind him and Sharpshot hovering next to them. Within moments all four of them were inside. But they noticed something strange about the place.

"There's no one here." Carlos stated as Hiccup walked over to the paintings that were all over the walls. He had to admit that the person was very talented.

"Strange, it looks like someone lives here-" Hiccup began to say.

CLANG!

The boys quickly turned around and saw Flynn on the ground, unconscious. But they saw no one. Then they heard a yelp behind Hiccup and saw Sharpshot clamping his teeth on the edge of a frying pan which belonged to a blonde haired girl who was struggling against the little dragon who was trying to pull the pan from her hands. The girl looked to be around their age and had green eyes with long blonde hair, _very_ long blonde hair.

"Let go!" The girl yelled, doing tug-a-war with the dragon.

"Who are you?" Hiccup asked.

"I should be asking _you_ that." The girl replied, struggling as Sharpshot held his grip on the frying pan.

"My name's Hiccup and this is Carlos." Hiccup introduced, "The one holding onto the frying pan is Sharpshot."

The girl still looked to be wary of them.

"Relax, we're not here to hurt you. We're just here to hide." Carlos assured the girl with his palms out in front of him.

"Why should I believe you?" The girl questioned.

"We're travelers. We were just taking a break and decided to take a stroll when this guy," Hiccup explained and pointed at the unconscious Flynn, "came out of nowhere and dragged us along because he was being chased."

"Are you…telling the truth?" The girl asked, unsure.

"Yes." The boys said in unison.

The girl raised her eyebrow as their answer. Suddenly a chameleon appeared on her shoulder. The little creature squint its eyes at the two boys with suspicion. This made the boys feel uncomfortable at its stare. A growl broke the silence between the boys and the chameleon. The growl belonged to Sharpshot, who was still holding onto the frying pan with his teeth.

"Sharpshot, let go of the frying pan." Hiccup ordered. Sharpshot blinked and glanced at Hiccup, "It's okay."

Sharpshot looked at Hiccup and then at Rapunzel. He slowly let go of the frying pan and flew over to Hiccup and landed on his right shoulder.

"**Are you sure, Hiccup? How do you know that she won't try and hit you two again?**" Sharpshot asked.

"I'm sure." Hiccup confirmed.

"So what is that?" The girl pointed at Sharpshot.

"Sharpshot is actually a dragon." Hiccup replied.

"Wow." The girl was amazed at Sharpshot.

"But who are you?" Carlos asked.

"Oh, I'm Rapunzel." 'Rapunzel' introduced and then gesture the chameleon on her shoulder, "and this is Pascal."

"It's a pleasure to meet you two." Carlos greeted as Rapunzel and Pascal waved to them.

"So do you really live here?" Hiccup asked.

"Y-Yeah." Rapunzel answered.

"For how long?" Carlos asked.

"18 years." Rapunzel replied sheepishly.

The two boys and dragons' eyes widened at the answer. They couldn't believe that this girl had been living in this tower for 18 years! For Hiccup, it made sense because of all of the paintings everywhere. They represented of what she wanted to see and experience. She probably had never set a foot outside before.

"**Wait, what are we going to do about him?**" Sharpshot asked. Hiccup and the others stared at the unconscious thief in the middle of the room.

"We could put him in my wardrobe, for now." Rapunzel suggested.

The boys glanced at each other and looked back at Rapunzel.

"Works for us." The boys said and shrugged in unison.

They first tried dragging him into the wardrobe and struggling pushing him in. That worked, for two seconds, and then he fell out and landed on top of them. Rapunzel tried to swing him in, but her hair got stuck in the doors. She whacked her head against the door and the three sighed with frustration. This was going to be harder than it looked. Finally though, with her hair and a broom, she managed to get him inside the wardrobe and the two boys slammed the door shut. Then they noticed four of Flynn's fingers sticking out. Rapunzel simply pushed them back in. Then she quickly put a chair against the doors. The three let out sighs of relief.

"Okay," Rapunzel said, breathing heavily and pointing her frying pan at doors. "I've got person in my closet. I've got a person. . . in my closet." She turned over her shoulder and looked at herself in the mirror. "I've got a person in my closet!" She laughed.

The two boys glanced at each other before Rapunzel finally noticed them in the mirror.

"I mean _we _got a person in my closet." Rapunzel corrected.

"Yeah, but you performed most of the work." Hiccup started.

"So we'll let you take the credit." Carlos finished. Rapunzel beamed at that.

"Don't think I can handle myself, huh mother?" Rapunzel chuckled to herself. She spun her pan around her fingers. "Well, heh, tell that to my frying pa- Ow!" She hit herself in the forehead by accident. She held the spot and glared at her pan, until something behind her caught her eye. The boys caught her line of sight and spotted the satchel that Flynn had with him and spotted something shiny in it. Hiccup walked over to it and bent down to pick up. Once he stood up, Carlos and Rapunzel went over to him and the three looked into the satchel. Rapunzel put her hand into it and picked up the shiny thing and held it up to look at it. It was small and round, with one side that was all pointy and covered in tiny little stones. Three were bigger than the others, clear and shimmering. Rapunzel held the clear stones up to her eyes, looking through it at Pascal on the floor who looked thoughtful before shaking his head.

"I don't think that's what it's for, Rapunzel." Hiccup commented.

Rapunzel stuck her hand through the hoop and let go, leaving it hanging off her arm.

"Not that either, Rapunzel." Carlos commented.

Rapunzel took it off and looked at it again. The hoop was about the size of her head. Carlos held his hand out to her.

"May I?" Carlos asked.

Rapunzel looked at the object and at Carlos's hand. Then she gave it to him. He gazed it as well. He turned the object around with the stones in front of him and went over to Rapunzel and lightly placed the object on her head. The boys' eyes widened at the object and realized that it was a tiara! Did that mean that Flynn stole from the royal family?! That's why he was being chased?

"Rapunzel, could you turn around and look at the mirror?" Hiccup suggested.

Rapunzel arched her eyebrow and turned around to look into the mirror. She stared at herself, hesitantly lowering her hands. For some strange reason, she felt like she had seen this object before, but where?

"Rapunzel!"

Rapunzel pulled the hoop off her head, grabbed the bag from Hiccup, and threw the two objects into a nearby pot. She ran quickly to the window and turned to the boys.

"Hide upstairs!" Rapunzel whispered while pointing at the stairs and the two boys and the little dragon ran up the stairs and went to hide in Rapunzel's room. Rapunzel pushed the doors open again. Down below stood mother with a large smile on her face as she waited to come up.

"Coming mother!" Rapunzel called, throwing her hair over the hook then letting the rest of it fly out the window, fall all the way to the ground. Mother grabbed her hair and so did Rapunzel, pulling her up just like she did every day.

"I've got a surprise for you!" Mother called lovingly.

Rapunzel giggled nervously, "Uh, I do too!"

"OOh, I bet my surprise is bigger!" Mother teased as Rapunzel pulled her up.

"I seriously doubt it!" Rapunzel mumbled, nervously as she glanced at the wardrobe.

She finally got mother to the top of the tower, where she perched on the windowsill and held up her basket with a wide smile. "I brought back parsnips! I'm making hazelnut soup for dinner, your favorite! Surprise!"

"Well, Mother," Rapunzel pulled her hair off the window and smiled. "There's something I wanna tell you, an-"

"Oh Rapunzel," Mother sighed, hanging her cloak on the coat rack by the window. "You know how I hate leaving you after a fight especially when I've done absolutely nothing wrong."

"Okay, but, I've been thinking a lot about what you said earlier, and-"

"I hope you're not still talking about the stars," Mother said with a tone of warning in her voice, crossing the room to unpack her basket with the things she needed to make dinner.

"Floating lights," Rapunzel corrected. "And yes, I'm leading up to that," She walked proudly toward the wardrobe, ready to show mother the man she was able to take down by herself except Hiccup and Carlos who showed her no harm towards her. Maybe afterwards she can introduce Hiccup, Carlos, and Sharpshot to her mom and show her that there are good people in the outside world.

"Because I really thought we'd _dropped_ the issue, sweetheart." Mother continued with her back to Rapunzel and the wardrobe.

"No, mother," Rapunzel pleaded, getting closer to the wardrobe, "I'm just saying, you think I'm not strong enough to handle myself out there, but-"

"Oh, darling," Mother chuckled, looking at her over her shoulder. "I _know_ you're not strong enough to handle yourself out there."

"But if you just-"

"Rapunzel," Mother warned. "We're done talking about this."

"Trust me-"

"Rapunzel."

"I know what I'm-"

"Rapunzel!"

"Oh come on, I-"

"Enough with the lights, Rapunzel!" Mother shouted suddenly. "You are not leaving this tower! _Ever_!"

Rapunzel froze, taken completely aback by her mother's raised voice. Slowly, Rapunzel pulled her hand away from the chair that was holding her wardrobe shut. Mother groaned, falling delicately into a nearby chair.

"Great," She propped her head up on her hand, sighing. "Now I'm bad guy . . . "

The boys and dragon glanced at each other. They never expected Rapunzel's mother to be so strict on not letting Rapunzel go outside of the tower. They couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl. She desperately wanted to go outside and her mother had just forbid her for even asking to go out. It almost seemed like she didn't want anyone to find Rapunzel, but why?

Rapunzel looked down at the ground with guilt. She never wanted to upset her mother. She just wanted to see the floating lights. It was her absolute dream to go and see them. Her green eyes drifted to the wardrobe with the unconscious man inside, then to the painting above the fireplace. The painting had a girl with the long, magical blonde hair who was sitting on a tree watching the floating lights as they danced across the night sky. Then Rapunzel had gotten herself an idea. A terrible, maybe _horrible_ idea that would not only get her into serious trouble, but it went against everything mother had taught her.

"All I was going to say, mother, is that . . . " She stepped in front of the wardrobe, pulling her hair along with her so that mother wouldn't see the chair that was propped against the wardrobe, "I know what I want for my birthday, now."

Mother sighed. "And what is that?" She asked, not looking up at her.

Rapunzel held her arms across herself.

"New paint?" She offered. "Made from the white shells you once brought me?"

"Well that is a very long trip, Rapunzel," Mother lowered her hand and finally looked at her again. "Almost three days time."

"I just . . . thought it was a better idea than," Rapunzel glanced at the painting again. " . . . than the . . . stars."

Mother looked down thoughtfully, then sighed. She smiled softly, and stood up. She walked toward Rapunzel and held in her arms.

"You're sure you'll be all right on your own?" She asked gently.

"I know I'm safe as long as I'm here." Rapunzel replied, smiling when mother kissed the top of her head.

They pulled away in a few moments, mother went to get her cloak again and Rapunzel reaching to pack her basket with enough supplies for her mother's long journey. She gave mother her basket, and after a soft fair well, Rapunzel gently lowered mother to the ground with her hair again.

"I'll be back in three days' time," Mother assured her. "I love you very much dear."

"I love you more." Rapunzel smiled, waving goodbye.

"I love you _most_." Her mother waved back and turned towards the cave.

Rapunzel stood at the window, watching her mother disappear through the cave. She stayed still, counting to ten in her head, making double-sure that mother wasn't going to come back in case she forgot anything. Once Rapunzel was positively sure that mother was completely gone, she ran from the window and scrambled to grab her frying pan again, ready to put her plan into motion. Then she remembered the boys and the dragon.

"You can come out now." Rapunzel said.

Hiccup, Carlos, along with Sharpshot, quickly ran out of Rapunzel's room and down the stairs and went up to Rapunzel.

"So what's your plan?" Hiccup asked.

"I'm going to force that guy to take me to see the floating lights." Rapunzel stated.

"How are you going to do that?" Carlos asked, left brow arched.

"Don't worry, I have an idea." Rapunzel said.

"If you're sure, Rapunzel." Hiccup confirmed.

The three went over to the wardrobe. Rapunzel grabbed the chair and slid it away from the doors. Hiccup and Carlos grabbed the handles of the door, waiting for Rapunzel to give the signal to open the wardrobe. She took a deep breath and nodded to the boys. They pulled opened the doors and looked to see Flynn stand before falling face first to the floor in a hunched form. Rapunzel gasped when he hit the floor. Suddenly the upper part of his body slid forward, which straightened his body that laid out on the floor. She carefully walked over to the unconscious man and gazed at him with suspicion.

"Now what?" Carlos asked.

A few minutes later, the three were able to tie Flynn to the chair with Rapunzel's hair. The three pulled the knocked out Flynn towards the center of the room with the sun light beaming on it which made the rest of the room appear dark.

"Okay, Pascal. Try to wake him up." Rapunzel said.

"You too, Sharpshot." Hiccup said.

The two small reptiles quickly crawled over to Flynn and climbed onto his shoulders. Pascal slapped him and instantly camouflaged into Flynn's vest, thinking that would wake Flynn up. However it didn't. Sharpshot swatted his tail and Pascal tried poking him with his tail. He remained asleep. Then the two put their tongues in his ears which startled him, causing the two reptiles to fall off his shoulders in fright. Then he tried to get up, only to find out that he was restrained to the chair.

"Comfortable, Flynn?" Hiccup asked, arms crossed in front of his chest.

Flynn glared at Hiccup and Carlos.

"Are you two behind this?" Flynn asked.

"Well there is another person who helped, so yeah." Carlos replied.

"If this is about being chased, then I'm sorry because I had no other choice in the matter." Flynn stated, "Besides I didn't want to go down solo."

"Is that the best you can come up with?" Hiccup asked, brow arched.

Flynn glared at the two boys and then tried to get out of the chair, but no luck. He soon noticed that it wasn't rope that tied him to the chair.

"Is this…hair?" Flynn asked, following the line of hair.

"Struggling…struggling is pointless!" Rapunzel warned from the rafters.

"Huh?" Flynn asked, unable to see who was talking to them. He soon heard feet jumping off the rafters and onto the ground.

"I know why you're here and I'm not afraid you." Rapunzel stated.

"What?" Flynn asked, confused, squinting.

Then Rapunzel came forward from the shadows with her frying pan in hand and made an intimating stare towards Flynn.

"Who are you and how did you find me?" Rapunzel questioned as she started to raise her frying pan, ready for an attack.

"Uh ha." Flynn replied, shocked at the sight of Rapunzel.

"_Who are you and how did you find me_?" Rapunzel repeated, a little bit harsher with her frying pan raised. Flynn cleared his throat.

"I know not who you are nor how I came to find you. But may I just say," Flynn looked down and then back up with his cocky grin while wiggling his eye brow, "Hi."

The three arched their eyebrows at this.

"How ya' doing? The name's Flynn Rider." Flynn introduced, still grinning, "How's your day going, huh?"

"Is he trying to flirt his way out of this?" Carlos asked.

"Definitely." Hiccup answered.

"**I think the last part about being a lady-killer extraordinaire was made up by him**." Sharpshot commented.

"Agreed." Hiccup added.

Rapunzel frowned, looking side to side with her eyes, and shook her head while she pointed her frying pan at Flynn, which made Flynn lean back.

"Who else knows my location, _Flynn Rider_?" Rapunzel questioned.

"Alight Blondie-" Flynn began to say.

"Rapunzel." Rapunzel corrected her name.

"Gesundheit." Flynn said and pointed his thumbs at himself, "Here's the deal: I was in a situation, gallivanting through the forest, I came across your tower and-" Flynn's brown eyes widened and he looked down at himself before looking around wildly, "Oh, oh no! Where- where is my satchel?!" He demanded.

"I've hidden it. Somewhere you'll _never_ find it." She confirmed proudly with her frying pan tucked under her arms which were crossed in front of her chest.

"It's in that pot, isn't it?" He asked, pointing to the pot that was off to the side.

CLANG!

"Okay, where should we put it?" Hiccup asked, picking up the satchel from the pot.

"Oh, I know where." Rapunzel said.

After putting the satchel in a hiding spot, the two reptiles woke up Flynn with the same method from before: putting their tongues in his ears. Flynn fluttered his eyes open when he noticed Sharpshot and Pascal with their tongues in his ears.

"Would you stop _that?!_" Flynn demanded, trying to rub away the feeling of the two reptiles' spit off by rubbing his head on his left shoulder.

"_Now_ it's hidden it, where you'll never find it." Rapunzel remarked firmly with her arms crossed and walked towards Flynn as she flipped her hair back.

"_So_…" Rapunzel said as she began to walk around Flynn, "What do you want with my hair? To cut it?"

"What?!" Flynn asked, shocked, as Rapunzel continued to walk around him.

"Sell it?" Rapunzel questioned, pointing the frying pan towards his face as leaned back away from it.

"Noooo! Listen, the only thing I want to do with your hair is to get out of it! _Li-terally_!" Flynn exclaimed while trying to get out of the hair restraints.

"You-wait, you _don't _want my hair?" Rapunzel asked as she stood beside Flynn.

"Why on Earth would I want your _hair?!_" Flynn stated with irritation, "Look I was being chased, I saw a tower, I climbed it, end of story."

"You're…telling the truth?" Rapunzel asked, pointing the frying pan at him.

"_Yes!_" Flynn answered.

Rapunzel arched her eyebrow as Pascal ran along her arm and sat on the edge of the frying pan, staring at Flynn with suspicion, which made Flynn leaned back. Then Pascal pointed his tail in the other direction, meaning that the three of them should decide on what to do. Rapunzel stepped back as Pascal continued to squint his eyes at Flynn.

"He's telling the truth." Hiccup whispered.

"I agree." Rapunzel added, whispering.

"Are you sure we can trust him? Maybe we can do it on our own." Carlos asked, whispering.

"Carlos, he lives in this kingdom, which means that he knows how to get around." Hiccup reasoned, "We don't know the area and he's the only person we met so far who's from here."

"What other choice do we have? We need someone to take us." Rapunzel stated.

Carlos looked between the two. He knew the two were right. The two boys were new to the area and Rapunzel had never set foot outside. But the guy was a thief and was capable of tricking them. However, there was a way to prevent him from doing that. Carlos sighed and opened his eyes.

"Fine," Carlos grunted, "But if he tries anything funny, I'm letting Cielo eat him for lunch."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure Toothless will get a piece of him as well." Hiccup added.

"Deal." Carlos agreed.

The two boys nodded and looked towards Rapunzel. She smiled and took a deep breath and then let it out.

"Okay, Flynn Rider," Rapunzel declared loudly, "I am prepared to offer you a deal."

"Deal?" Flynn asked.

"Look this way," Rapunzel ordered, tugged her hair which caused the chair to spin and made Flynn fall forward to the floor as Rapunzel pulled back the curtain that hid her painting of the floating lights in the night sky, "Do you know _what_ these are?"

"You mean the lantern thing they do for the princess?" Flynn grunted.

"'Lantern'? I _knew_ they weren't stars," Rapunzel realized and then she pointed her frying pan at the painting, "Well, tomorrow evening, they will light the night sky with these _lanterns_," Then she pointed the frying pan at Flynn, "You will act as our guide, take us to these lanterns and return me home safely. Then and _only_ then will I return your precious satchel to you. That is my deal."

"Sounds like a fair deal, right?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah," Flynn grunted as he tried to push himself off the ground only for the chair to fall on its left side, "No can do. Unfortunately, the kingdom and I are not exactly _sympotical_ (quoting with his fingers) at the moment so I won't be taking you anywhere."

Rapunzel turned to Pascal on her shoulder who punched his fist into his palm which probably meant do a more aggressive approach.

A few seconds later, a tied up Flynn Rider was thrown out the window.

"WAAAAHHHH!" Flynn screamed as he went down. He closed his eyes tightly and waited for the impact to come. But at the last second, the fall was stopped. He opened one of his eyes and saw himself inches from hitting the ground. He let out a sigh of relief. For a second he thought he really was going to die. Then he felt the hair pull him back up.

"Do you think that work?" Carlos asked, helping Rapunzel pull the tied up thief back to the top.

"It might have." Hiccup stated, helping as well.

"Might have?" Rapunzel asked.

"Some people usually confess or agree to something if they nearly have a near life death experience." Hiccup replied.

A few moments later, Flynn was back in the tower and the chair fell backwards on the floor with his feet dangled.

"Okay, I am _so_ not taking you anywhere." Flynn declared.

"Nope, didn't work." Hiccup commented.

The two boys looked towards Rapunzel and punched their fists into their palms which told Rapunzel to try another aggressive approach. Rapunzel nodded and frowned as she grabbed her hair once more, pulling Flynn up.

"Something brought you here, _Flynn Rider_. Call it what you will, fate, destiny." Rapunzel listed off as she walked closer and closer to Flynn.

"A horse?" Flynn deadpanned.

"So I have made the decision to trust you." Rapunzel declared.

"A horrible decision really." Flynn stated bluntly.

"But _trust me_ when I tell you _this_," Rapunzel pulled the chair towards her and held the back frame of the chair, making Flynn fall against the hair restraint as Rapunzel glared at him up close, "You can tear this tower apart brick by brick. But without _my _help, you will never find your precious satchel."

Flynn cleared his throat, "Okay, let me get this straight. I take you all to see the lanterns, bring you back home, and I get my satchel back?"

"I promise." Rapunzel confirmed. "And when I promise something, I never, ever, break that promise." Flynn stared at her with one eyebrow raised, "_Ever_."

"Alright listen, I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice." Flynn paused. "Here comes the smolder."

He lowered his head then raised it as he pursed his lips and lowered his eyelids, gazing up at her through his eyelashes. It wasn't working for Rapunzel as she narrowed her eyes at him along with Pascal.

"Really/**Really**?" Hiccup, Carlos, and Sharpshot deadpanned in unison.

"This is kind of an off day for me, this doesn't normally happen." Flynn stated before he finally gave in, "_Fine!_ I take you all to see the lanterns."

"Really?!" Rapunzel squealed in happiness, letting go of the chair which made Flynn fall face first to the floor. The three winced at Flynn hitting the floor, "Oops."

"You broke my smolder." Flynn muffled by the floor.

* * *

_If you are serious about your destiny and arriving at success then you must stick to your plan and follow the road map. It's not good enough to have the plan in your head! The plan must be written down. _

\- Tony A. Gaskins Jr.


	12. When My Life Begins

Chapter 12: When My Life Begins

A/N:

'**Dragons**' – Dragonese

* * *

After Flynn finally agreed to take the others to see the lanterns, he began his way down the tower. He was not happy that he had to take this ridiculous deal. He was stuck being a tour guide for these three youngsters. Flynn grunted as he was going down the tower with the arrows once more.

"You comin', blondie?" Flynn asked, looking up at the window and then continued going down.

Rapunzel was still at the top, looking at the ground that was so far down. Hiccup was on her left side while Carlos was on her right. The two knew that she was nervous.

"_Look at the world, so close, and I'm half-way to it_," Rapunzel sang under her breath,

"_Look at it all, so big, do I even dare?"_

Her hands loosened around her hair and she chanced a half-glance back over her shoulder at the painting.

"_Look at me, there at last!_

_I just have to do it…_

_Should I . . .?"_

The boys put their hands on her shoulders as Sharpshot flew off Hiccup's shoulder and hovered in front of them. She glanced at the two boys and the little dragon.

"No," Rapunzel shook her head and looked ahead. _"Here I go!"_

Pascal came to her shoulder and tied a thick strand of hair around his waist and gave thumbs up. Rapunzel chuckled and threw the rest of her hair down and the three let out a whooping holler of delight when the wind rushed past them and roared in their ears. Then just as suddenly as they were falling, they came to an abrupt stop. Hiccup and Carlos dropped harmlessly to the ground. They looked back up at Rapunzel, waiting for her to stand on her feet. Her green eyes were the size of saucers, holding tight to the end of her hair and dangling in a curled position to keep her feet off the ground. Flynn opened his mouth to say something but Hiccup and Carlos punched his ribs, shutting the thief up. It took a few moments, but Rapunzel began to lower her legs, touching her toes into the grass like a person would do to test the temperature of a lake before diving in. One toe became a foot, then two feet, and then with a loud almost-hysterical giggle, Rapunzel fell to her knees in dirt.

_"Just smell the grass, the dirt!_

_Just like I'd dreamed they'd be . . ."_

She lowered herself to lay sprawled out on her back, closing her eyes in delight. Then she rolled onto her stomach and gazed at the dandelions in front of her, which soon broke off into a few dandelion seeds.

_"Just feel that summer breeze, the way it's calling me!"_

Rapunzel quickly got up and went after the flying dandelion seeds and gasped when she found her feet in the water of a pond.

_"For, like, the first time ever,_

_I'm completely free . . ."_

She scooped up some water and threw it into the air with her arms spread out. Then she spotted a bird flying in front of her and then the small cave, the only way in and out of the clearing.

_"I could go running, and racing!_

_And dancing, and chasing,"_

She started to make a bee-line for it, determination in the gaze of her eyes and the set of her shoulders.

_"And leaping, and bounding,_

_Hair flying! Heart pounding!"_

She broke into a desperate run, trailing all her hair behind her as she went. When she reached the opening of the cave, she shoved aside the leaf-curtain and left the cave.

_"And splashing and reeling!_

_And finally feeling-_

_Now's when my life begins!"_

Rapunzel was beaming with excitement as she watched the birds fly off and gazed at the trees all around her. Suddenly she heard a grunt of some sort nearby, two to be exact. She slowly turned around and saw two creatures that were at least nine times bigger than Sharpshot. She froze at the looks in their eyes.

"Toothless, there ya' are!" Hiccup yelled.

"Cielo!" Carlos yelled.

Rapunzel turned to the two boys who went past her and towards the two creatures and hugged them.

"**What took you so long?**" Toothless asked.

"Sorry, bud." Hiccup apologized.

"**Hey, who's the girl?**" Cielo asked.

"Oh, this is Rapunzel." Hiccup answered.

Both boys turned to the girl who looked white as a ghost with wide green eyes.

"Don't worry, Rapunzel, these two won't hurt you." Hiccup assured her.

"A-Are you sure? Be-Because they're just staring at me." Rapunzel stuttered.

"They're curious about you is all, Rapunzel." Carlos reasoned.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Rapunzel asked, uncertain.

"Yes." Hiccup and Carlos replied in unison.

"You promise?" Rapunzel questioned.

"We promise." Hiccup and Carlos confirmed in unison again.

Rapunzel gulped and nodded nervously. Hiccup could easily tell that she really wasn't comfortable with Toothless and Cielo. Then he got an idea which Rapunzel will absolutely not want to do, but it was the only way she would help get over her fear of their dragons. Hiccup walked over to Rapunzel and held out his left hand.

"Rapunzel, could you give me you right hand, please?" Hiccup asked.

"What?" Rapunzel asked.

"I'll show you that Toothless and Cielo won't harm you." Hiccup stated.

"But are you really sure?" Rapunzel asked.

"If you're able to trust Sharpshot, could you give our other two a chance?" Hiccup asked.

Rapunzel looked between the two dragons, took a deep breath, and let it out. She nodded at her choice.

"Okay. I'll give it a shot." Rapunzel replied.

"Thank you, but I know you're not going to like the first thing I'm asking you to do." Hiccup said.

"What's that?" Rapunzel asked.

"Could you hand over the frying pan to Carlos?" Hiccup asked.

"What?! Why?" Rapunzel panicked, clutching her frying pan.

"Trust comes from both ways. If you don't have a weapon on you, he'll also see that you mean no harm towards him as well." Hiccup explained.

She glanced at Hiccup and then Toothless and back at Hiccup. She took a deep breath and let it out. She handed her frying over to Carlos and placed her right hand into Hiccup's left. He gently held it and led her over to Toothless.

"Toothless, this is Rapunzel, she's a friend." Hiccup introduced, "Rapunzel this is Toothless."

Toothless's big green eyes dilated and gave her a gummy smile. Rapunzel couldn't help but give a little chuckle at how adorable he looked. Hiccup held Rapunzel's hand and let it hover over inches away from Toothless's snout. Then he let go of her hand.

"Now, it's his decision." Hiccup said as he stepped back.

Rapunzel looked at Toothless with nervousness. Toothless could easily tell by her shaking hand. He was a little bit weary of her when she had a frying pan on her. But for some strange reason, her eyes kind of reminded her of Hiccup. Taking a chance, he closed the distance between her hand and his snout. She gasped and soon smiled at his choice. She gently strokes his head which made him purr and closed his eyes.

"See? You and Toothless are friends." Hiccup confirmed.

"I guess you're right." Rapunzel said as she continued to stroke Toothless's head who purred at her touch. Cielo slightly bumped her shoulder and she stood back a little. Then she held her hand out, waiting for Cielo to trust her. He closed the distance between her palm and his snout. She smiled once more and scratched under his chin who purred at the attention.

"It looks like you're friends with Cielo as well." Hiccup pointed out.

"So what do you think of the outside?" Carlos asked.

Rapunzel stopped scratching when she absorbed his words. She was outside of the tower and was surrounded by the many greens, stones, and trees.

"I can't believe I did this!" Rapunzel squealed as she jumped up and down, "I-I can't believe I did this . . . I can't believe I did this!"

Suddenly a look of realization appeared on her face, "Mother would be so furious!"

Then she was distracted by a little pond growing lily pads with flowers, which she squealed at the cuteness of and sat down on a rock to admire them. "But that's okay, because," She held up a lily pad flower like she was talking to it. "What she doesn't know won't kill her, right?"

That line of thought didn't continue until she found a small cave and went inside to 'explore' it. However her thought of doubt came back when she got to the back of the cave, she curled up on herself and started rocking back and forth with a small panic attack, "Oh my gosh," She whispered, "This would _kill_ her!"

The two boys managed to calm her down and leave the cave. They walked for a while until Rapunzel spotted the small hill with an odd gleam in her eye when the group turned to walk down it. Once they made it to the bottom, Rapunzel zoomed past them, running with her hair trailing behind her. She laughed and spun and kept kicking piles of fallen dead leaves.

"This is so fun!" She yelled which made Flynn twitch, who was looking like a bored hostage while examining his finger nails, since she ran right by his ear and most likely popped an eardrum.

A few minutes later, she was up in a tree. She leaned her head against the tree trunk with her arms dangling in despair. Hiccup and Carlos easily guessed that she was going to go back to the tower.

"I'm a horrible daughter. I'm going back." Rapunzel decided which perked Flynn up.

But that decision changed when Flynn started leading her back to the tower until Rapunzel spotted another hill covered in two-inch tall grass and dandelions scattered around. Her squeal of delight made Flynn twitch again and she went off, cartwheeling down the hill in spinning circles of gold.

"I am never going back!" She laughed, falling sideways only to roll the rest of the way down, tying herself up in her own hair. She dissolved into a fit of giggles when they caught up to her.

The decision changed once more once the two boys untangled her and went face down in the grass and dandelions. Flynn and the boys sat down next to her. Flynn had his chin in his palm where his elbow rested on his knee along with his other arm.

"I'm a despicable human being." Rapunzel grunted against the grass.

A few minutes later, the decision changed once again. Rapunzel found a tall tree and proceeded to swing from its tall branches with the help of her hair. Then she swung around the tree where Flynn and the boys had their arms crossed while leaning against the tree. Flynn had a grumpy look on his face as Rapunzel swung around. The dragons were a few feet away from the tree as they watched the girl go around the tree.

"Best. Day. _Ever!_" Rapunzel screamed and giggled.

"_So_ how long is this going to last?" Carlos asked.

"Not sure." Hiccup stated.

"**She's a strange girl**." Toothless deadpanned.

"**Indeed.**" Cielo added.

"**Is she ever going to make up her mind?**" Sharpshot asked.

"**No idea.**" Toothless and Cielo said in unison.

When she was done swinging, she then danced and sang over a small group of rocks. Then she sat down against the last one, pulled her knees up to her chest, and cried. The boys didn't know what to do at this point. The girl reacted like she was on a sugar high and went to be down in the dumps a few minutes later. So her mood swings were a little bit unpredictable. Then they noticed Flynn approach Rapunzel and cleared his throat to get her attention. Then he squatted down next to her.

"Listen," Flynn said gently. "I couldn't help but notice that . . . you seem to be a little at war with yourself about this."

Rapunzel rubbed her eye and looked up at him in confusion.

"What?" She asked in a small voice.

"Now, I'm only picking up bits and pieces here," Flynn straightened up again. "Over protective mother, forbidden road trip? This is serious stuff!" He gave her a gentle smile. "But let me ease your conscious. This is all part of growing up."

Rapunzel looked up at him with interest, her eyes rimmed with a reddish tint. Hiccup and Carlos narrowed their eyes at him. They knew something was off. Since when was he trying to actually console her about this, rather than trying to drag her back to the tower. What is he playing at?

"Really?" Rapunzel asked softly.

Flynn nodded understandingly. "Sure! A little rebellion, a little adventure. That's good- healthy even!" He glanced at his right shoulder where Pascal had climbed up onto him, looking optimistic about him trying to cheer her up. He only glanced at the chameleon before brushing him easily off his shoulder.

Rapunzel sniffled and rubbed her nose. "You think?" She asked in a shaky voice. Flynn nodded.

"I know," He said, leaning in. "Listen. Does your mother deserve it? No," Rapunzel's face fell as she shook her head in agreement. "Would this break her heart and crush her soul? Of course! But you just got to do it!"

Rapunzel looked stricken, pulling lightly on a lock of her hair. Hiccup and Carlos shared a warning glance with each other finally understanding what the thief was playing at.

"Break her heart?" Rapunzel whispered.

"In half." Flynn plucked a small berry of the bush next to him.

"Crush her soul?" She whimpered.

"Like a grape." Flynn squeezed the berry between his fingers for emphasis.

"Rapunzel, you don't have to listen to this guy!" Hiccup stated.

"He's just trying to make you feel guilty is all!" Carlos added.

"You're right, she would be heartbroken." Rapunzel confirmed with wide eyes, ignoring the boys' warnings, as Flynn helped her up.

"I am right, aren't I? Oh bother . . . " Flynn put on an apologetic face with his hand over his heart in a fake regret tone. Then he sighed. "Alright, I can't believe I'm saying this, but . . . I'm letting you out of the deal."

"What?" Rapunzel gasped as Flynn walked past her.

"That's right!" Flynn picked up the frying pan and Pascal off a rock, walking back to drop them in Rapunzel's hands. "But don't thank me. Let's all just turn around and get you home. Here's your pan here's your frog." He put an arm around Rapunzel to start leading her in the general direction of her tower just like earlier. "I get back my satchel you get back a mother-daughter relationship based on mutual trust, and voila! All of us part ways as unlikely friends!"

Rapunzel shoved Flynn away and stood in front of him.

"No! I am seeing those lanterns!" Rapunzel protested firmly. Flynn threw his hands in the air in exasperation.

"Oh come on!" He snapped. "What is it going to take to get my satchel back?!"

Rapunzel narrowed her eyes and shoved her frying pan in Flynn's face threateningly.

"I will use this." She warned him.

Flynn put up his hands, deciding that maybe it wasn't a good idea to irritate a girl who has a frying pan in her hands. The boys and their dragons couldn't help but chuckle at the scared look on Flynn's face as Rapunzel threatens him with a frying pan. They had to admit that she wasn't really helpless after all. Suddenly there was a rustle from behind and the sound of a twig snapping. Rapunzel's eyes snapped around and she yelped, and jumped onto Flynn's back, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his hips from behind, holding out her frying pan to protect herself.

"What is it?!" She shrilled. "Is it ruffians?! Thugs?!" Flynn grunted when she shifted and almost knocked him over. "Have they come for me?!"

The boys turned to their dragons and saw that they didn't move, which meant that there was no danger around. A few seconds later a rabbit, barely bigger than her head, jumped out and sat there, looking up at the odd group with its brown doeish eyes. Flynn looked at it and glanced at the girl clinging to his back.

"Stay calm." He deadpanned. "It can probably smell fear."

Seeing their reactions had made it pretty clear to Rapunzel that the little fluffy animal wasn't a threat. Nor was it a ruffian or a thug. Rapunzel laughed nervously and climbed down.

"Sorry," She said and backed away while Flynn tried to straighten himself. "I guess I'm a little bit . . . _jumpy_."

Flynn straightened his vest. "Probably be best to avoid ruffians and thugs though," He said thoughtfully. Rapunzel laughed.

"Ah ha, yeah . . . that'd probably be best." She agreed.

"Are you guys hungry? Because I know a great place for lunch!" Flynn said as he put his hands on his hips.

"Really?" Rapunzel chirped, "Well . . . where?"

"Oh don't worry!" Flynn said as he grabbed her by the frying pan and started leading her off, "You'll know it when you smell it!"

The boys and dragons had a sneaky suspicion towards Flynn as they followed after him and Rapunzel.

* * *

_When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier._

\- Roy E. Disney


	13. I've Got A Dream

Chapter 13: I've Got A Dream

A/N:

'**Dragons**' – Dragonese

* * *

"I know it's around here somewhere," Flynn mused, leading the three youngsters plus the dragons through the trees. During the entire walk, Flynn could practically feel the glares coming from the two boys behind him, including the dragons as well. It made a shiver go down his spine because of that. The reason why the two boys and the three dragons were glaring at Flynn was because they knew that Flynn was trying to make Rapunzel give up and head back to her tower to hand over his satchel. But the boys could tell that she was determined to go and see the floating lanterns. Then Flynn stopped and turned to the two boys with their dragons as Flynn stroke his small tuft of a goatee.

"You know, boys, I hate to say it but I think the place we're going doesn't really allow . . . pets." Flynn stated, "So… sorry, Lizard Breathes, you're gonna have to stay here."

The dragons growled warningly at the cocky thief in front of them. They were really starting to hate this man. He was more annoying than any other person that they had run into. To Hiccup's point of view, he was more annoying than Tuffnut Thorston who was _extremely_ annoying. After all, he and his sister were always thinking of crazy and annoying ideas that were considered dangerous and impossible.

"Sorry, guys," Hiccup mumbled as he placed his hand on Toothless's head. "But the jerk is right. You know that we can't bring you into populated areas."

"**What?**" Toothless asked.

"**Why can't we?**" Cielo asked.

"I don't think the people around here have ever seen a dragon and it might freak them out if they come across a real one." Hiccup reasoned.

"**I wish there were dragons around here**." Sharpshot commented.

"Me too, Sharpshot." Hiccup added, "For now, you'll have to hide."

"We'll whistle if we're in trouble." Carlos assured, placing his hand on Cielo's neck.

"**Okay.**" The dragons agreed, reluctantly.

"**But take your shield with you.**" Toothless ordered Hiccup.

"Okay." Hiccup obeyed and removed the shield that was attached to Toothless's saddle.

Then the three dragons turned back towards the woods. They managed to hide themselves among the thicker trees.

"Will they be okay?" Rapunzel asked as they watched the dragons leave.

"Don't worry, they'll be fine." Carlos assured her.

Flynn clapped his hands. "Alright then! You guys ready? Cause this place is going to rock your stomachs!"

He led them down to the dirt road, which was marked with wooden fences every several feet. Flynn looked back and forth before taking a left and started strolling. Rapunzel skipped along behind him, who looked happy as a clam, with Hiccup and Carlos bringing up the rear.

"Aha! There it is! The Snuggly Duckling!" Flynn pretended to gush cheerfully, pointing out a sign with a yellow painted duck on it. "Don't worry, very quiet place. Don't want you scaring and giving up on this whole endeavor now do we?"

"Well," Rapunzel smiled as she held her frying pan close to her chest. "I do like ducklings!"

"Yay!" Flynn cheered feignedly.

The building that Flynn indicated looked more like a seedy pub than a restaurant. It was built with its back right against the tree. The ground curved slightly under it, causing the whole thing to lean forward and to the side. It gave of a concerning effect that the wall was going to fall on top of you as you walked up to it. Hiccup and Carlos had to admit this place needed _a lot_ of work. The four of them strode up to the door and Flynn put his hand on Rapunzel's back. He offered the girl a grin that had the two boys frowning.

"You ready?" Flynn asked her.

Rapunzel bobbed her head excitedly. "Yes!"

Flynn nodded and slammed the door open. "Garcon! Your finest table please!"

Rapunzel stared into the 'Snuggly Duckling' for all of three seconds before she gasped in shock. The inside was definitely farthest from what the name and the sign would have a person expect. The lighting was dim which came from a chandelier with low-burning candles and a fire place deep in the back. Several wooden tables were scattered around the joint, and there were all kinds of hunting trophies displayed on the walls and above the mantle on the fireplace. The air was musty and smelled sour, which made Carlos cringed. Hiccup was sure that he was supposed to find the place repulsive and disgusting; however the smell reminded him on the main meeting hall back on Berk.

Every man inside the pub had turned their heads toward the door, mouths curving downward into sneers and scowls. Flynn put his hands on Rapunzel's shoulders, completely ignoring the way her body was stiff and how she was holding out her frying pan like a sword for protection. He guided the blond inside despite her little cries of protest, speaking smoothly and condescendingly into her ear.

"You smell that?" Flynn chuckled. "Take a deep breath through the nose!" Here Flynn actually breathed in the sour smell of the pub, a smile on his face. "Just really let it all sink in! What are you getting? Because to me its part man's smell and the other part is _really _bad man smell." He asked the terrified girl as he led her through the group of thugs. Their dark angry eyes pointed downward with scarred up faces and beefy arms making them all look like they were just waiting for an excuse to bash all their heads in. Hiccup and Carlos did catch a sight of a thug chef cooking a bunch of lizards in a big pot which almost looked similar to Pascal.

" . . . overall it just smells like the color brown. Your thoughts?" Flynn finished, letting Rapunzel's shoulders go when her hair was grabbed by a short squat man with bushy muttonchops that bridged together over his lips. Rapunzel squeaked, quickly collecting as much of her hair as she could before skittering away.

" . . . that's a lot of hair," The thug rumbled in a deep baritone, sounding completely deadpan. Rapunzel's hair slid through his fingers as she fled.

"She's growing it out!" Flynn replied, cheerfully but equally deadpan. "Is that blood in your mustache?" He continued when he gazed at the thug's mustache. "Hey boys!" He called to Hiccup and Carlos and gestured the thug's mustache. "Look at this! Look at all of the blood in his mustache! Good sir that is a lot of blood!"

Hiccup and Carlos wanted to smack their foreheads. Of course this place wasn't some 'great place for lunch'. They honestly should have known better. It was plain obvious that Flynn had tricked Rapunzel into coming here and trying to scare her off and make her give back the satchel.

Rapunzel backed away from the group of men by the door and ended up bumping into a beefy guy at the bar. He growled a warning and Rapunzel showed off her frying pan to him as well, looking like she wasn't sure who to aim it at.

"You don't look so good, Blondie," Flynn said with false concern. "Maybe we should get you home, call it a day?" He put his arm around her shoulder and started to lead her toward the door with Hiccup and Carlos following behind them.

"You'll probably be better off," Flynn continued to babble, "I mean, this _is_ a five-star joint after all. If you can't handle this place then, well, maybe you should be back in your tower?" They were exactly three steps away from the door when it suddenly slammed shut. The man from the bar had appeared there in seconds, pinning a piece of paper to the door with a large hand. Flynn had put himself between Rapunzel and the thug holding the door shut. The thug turned to give Flynn a dark once over, one that was filled with a small side of greed that honestly freaked Hiccup and Carlos out a little.

"Is this you?" He growled, pointing at the inked picture on the paper.

Flynn looked at it for a second, then leaned over and moved the thug's finger to the side. The image looked like him, right down to his shirt and vest. The only odd thing about it was the comically large nose coming out of his face.

"Ugh," Fly huffed. "Now they're just being mean."

"I say it fits you perfectly." Hiccup commented.

"I agree." Carlos added.

"Oh-ho, it's him all right," Chuckled a man with a balding head and a hook for a right hand. "Greto," He thumbed to a dark haired guy in a blue shirt somewhere behind him. "Go find some guards!" He grabbed Flynn by the collar. "That reward's gonna buy me a new hook!"

Suddenly Flynn was yanked out of his grasp and pulled towards a guy with a strange helmet. Then it soon became a fist and tug a war battle with the thugs for the wanted thief. The three tried pleading and then Rapunzel tried banging on the thugs' back using her frying pan while Hiccup used his shield and Carlos used mugs, which didn't work. Flynn was lifted into the air by the man with the overly large horned Viking helmet and saw the guy with the hook with his fist reeled back, ready to hit Flynn. Hiccup searched frantically for an idea. He glanced at Rapunzel's hair, a support beam where a tree branch that was just above the bald hook guy.

"Not the nose!" Flynn begged, obviously having all his priorities in order. "Not the nose! Not the nose!"

"Rapunzel." Hiccup said, which got her attention. He gestured her hair and the tree branch and then the hook guy. Rapunzel nodded, understanding his idea and threw her hair over a support beam like it was a grappling hook, wrapped around a tree branch tight enough that when the three yanked, the tree branch moved but her hair stayed in place. Rapunzel, Hiccup, and Carlos continued to pull the branch back with all their strength. A second later they let go, and the tree branch smacked against the top of bald hook-handed guy, stopping him from punching Flynn. The thugs stared him with disbelief.

"Put him down!" She shouted, stomping her foot firmly.

Every single person turned to look at the three skinny teenagers standing there, Hiccup and Carlos started to chuckle nervously.

"Look," Rapunzel said breathlessly. "We don't know where we are, and we need him to take me to see the lanterns because I've been _dreaming_ about them my whole life! Find your humanity!" She yelled. "Haven't any of you ever had a dream?!"

The big bald guy unsheathed the axe, which was much bigger by viking standards, behind his back and while the large horned Viking helmet thug hung Flynn by his blue vest on a coat hook. He slowly began to stomp his way toward them. Hiccup swallowed, putting his shield in front of him. Rapunzel and Carlos ducked behind him, peaking around his shoulder as their eyes slowly got wider with terror. The bald guy was right up into their faces, a deep snarl dragging the corners of his square head downward.

"I had a dream . . . once." The bald thug said before he swung lifted his axe and threw it at the general direction where a terrified-looking accordion player was sitting in the corner amidst a large group of other weapons near him whose right leg was shackled to a metal ball. Sitting board-straight, the poor man began to timidly play his instrument. An oddly upbeat and happy tune began to play which confused the two boys and Flynn.

"_I'm malicious, mean and scary!_

_My sneer could curdle dairy!_

_And violence-wise my hands are not the cleanest!"_

The bald thug stepped back and gestured to the chalk-outline of a body on the wooden floor. Hiccup swore that was never there before. Hiccup gently ushered Rapunzel and Carlos backwards. Then they got out from behind him and listened to the singing thug.

"_But despite my evil look,_

_And my temper and my hook,_"

He grabbed and threw a guy with an overly-large nose who was innocently drinking his ale clear across the room with one hand. A spotlight, once again coming clear out of nowhere, shone down and reflected off the guy's shiny head. He used the grouping of barrels to climb up onto a stage, revealing a bench and a piano.

"_I've always yearned to be a concert pianist!_"

His hook tapped across the keys, the light sound of the surprisingly well-tuned instrument. The bald guy sat down at the bench, proceeding to play like the lack of his hand didn't bother him at all.

"_Can't you see me on the stage preforming Mozart?_

_Ticklin' the ivories 'til they gleam?_"

He scraped his hook across the keys, sending the little off-white pieces flying at Hiccup, Carlos, and Rapunzel. She used her pan to protect herself while Hiccup used his shield to protect him and Carlos, a small giggle of amusement starting to show on their lips.

"_Yet I'd rather be called deadly_," he offered Rapunzel a wink.

_"For my killer show tune medley!"_

He played off a riff and threw his finger toward the crowd somewhere. "Thank you!" He called. "_Cause way down deep inside I've got a dream!_"

"_He's got a dream!_" The other thugs joined in easily. "_He's got a dream!_"

"_See, I ain't as cruel and vicious as I seem!_" The bald guy continued, getting a full-out laugh from Rapunzel as she and the boys sat down on a box beside the piano with her. He performed another scrape down the keys, ending with a flourish of his arm that only a quick duck prevented the three from getting smacked in the face. Unfortunately the big nose thug got hit by his arm which threw him clear on his back.

"_Though I do love breaking themurs,_

_You can count me with the dreamers,_

_Cause way down deep inside I've got a dream!_"

The three turned around when the other thug sat up, looking a little dizzy but not at all concussed.

"_I've got scars and lumps and bruises_," He began, lifting his arm for Rapunzel to see.

"_Plus something here that oozes, _

_And lets not even mention my complexion!_" He gestured to his face, where there were large unfortunate patches of reddish skin.

"_But despite my extra toes_," Showing his extra toe on his left foot.

"_And my guider,_

_And my nose_," He smiled shyly at Rapunzel and offered her a flower.

"_I really wanna make a love connection!" _The girl looked touched, smiling sweetly at the poor guy.

Next thing the boys knew, the Nose Thug was sitting in some random boat with a short horribly drunk old man who was holding a parasol.

"_Can't you see me with a special little lady?_"He sang. The old guy opened his lacy umbrella.

"_Rowing in a rowboat down the stream?_" Using a spear, he scraped across the floor in the random little rowboat like he was in a river.

"_Though I'm one disgusting blighter,_

_I'm a lover!_

_Not a fighter!_"

He lifted the old drunk guy in a rope harness that hung from one of the beams up above. Pulling it back, he let the creepy old man dressed like a cupid fly around the ceiling.

"_Cause way down deep inside,_

_I've got a dream!_"

The rest of the thugs joined in for this verse. Hiccup and Carlos were having a hard time controlling the smiles growing across their faces.

"_I've got a dream!_" Nose guy sang.

"_He's got a dream!_" The other guys echoed.

"_And I know one day romance will reign supreme!_" The two boys caught a glimpse of Flynn's face as the Old Drunk Cupid flew past him, still hanging off the coat hook. It was completely deadpan and not amused at all, making the two boys laughing hysterically.

"_Though my face leaves people screaming_," Nose guy hugged a random guy at the bar, making him spurt his drink out in shock.

"_There's a child behind it, dreaming!_

_Like everybody else, I've got a dream_!"

The Nose guy hugged Rapunzel and the random guy.

"_Thor would like to quit and be a florist_," Some guy sang about a guy in the corner making floral arrangements out of weeds, rats, and skulls.

"_Gunter does interior design!_" Another indicated a tall skinny guy by the wall with a carved bear chair and a painting of a puppy.

"_Ulf is into mime!_" Flynn gave the man with make-up a death glare.

"_Attila's cupcakes are sublime!_" A man with a heavy helmet offered the three a pan of white-frosted cupcakes with little cherries on them. The three looked startled but interested.

"_Bruiser knits!_

_Killer sews!_

_Fang does little puppet shows!_"

Bald hook Guy stood in front of the thug with the overly large helmet. The three had to lift their heads in order to see his expression.

"_And Vladimir collects ceramic unicorns!_"

In the gargantuan man's fingers he held two of the little horned horses, tinging them together in tune with the song, which made him smile. Then the music went into instrumental at this moment. Then Rapunzel nudged Hiccup's shoulder.

"You should sing!" She gushed.

"What?!" Hiccup yelped.

"Come on!" Rapunzel begged.

"I'm not a great singer." Hiccup protested with his hands out.

"Come on, just give it a try." Rapunzel begged once more with a puppy teary eye look.

Somehow she reminded him of Toothless. The dragon would sometimes use that look whenever he begged Hiccup to go riding with him in the early mornings.

"Worth a shot." Carlos added.

Hiccup gave a deadpan expression towards the two and closed his eyes and let out a sigh of defeat. Then put his shield on his back.

"Fine." Hiccup agreed.

Suddenly the music picked up again and Rapunzel dragged him over to a nearby table. Two thugs helped him up. He was incredibly nervous in front of the crowd. He had _never_ sang before and was sure that he wouldn't be a good one. He looked over at Rapunzel and Carlos who gave him smiles of encouragement while Carlos gave him two thumbs up. He took a deep breath, let it out, and began to sing.

"_I live on an island of misery_

_Where I'm tall and a little bit lanky_

_Built like that guy on the railing!_" He pointed at the skinny drunk guy on the railing.

"_My muscles always fail me_

_Not to mention that I'm very brainy_

_But I am what I am_

_And no matter what they tell me,_

_I'm not my dad or a killer nor a sailor,_

_But I've got dreams _

_And I won't be denied-"_

The Carlos joined Hiccup on the table and they sang together.

"_So I decided to go on a journey _

_To see incredible discoveries_

_Cause deep down inside I've got a dream!" _

The crowd of thugs cheered for the two which made the two smiled with their arms spread out. Then they jumped off the table and Rapunzel came over and hugged the two. The three shared a small laugh before they separated.

"What about you?" The bald hook thug asked. The thugs, satisfied with Hiccup and Carlos's performance, had moved onto their next person who wasn't singing.

Flynn stared down at them from his place on the coat rack, not impressed in the slightest. "I'm sorry- me?"

"What's your dream?" The Nose guy lowered Flynn back to the ground.

The thief held up his hands and crossed his arms. "No, no, sorry fellas." He shook his head and gave the grouping of menacing singers a grin. "I don't sing."

Several dozen swords were shoved into his face. The two weren't surprised that he had to reconsider. Several moments later, Flynn was up and dancing on the bar counter top, singing nervously.

_"I've got dreams like you, no really!_

_Just much less . . . touchy-feely!_

_They mainly happen somewhere warm and sunny!" _He sided up to Vladimir with his ceramic unicorns and plucked one of the giant's fingers.

_"On an island that I own," _He set the unicorn down onto a bit of dried and crusty ale in the center of a large brown cooking pot, making it look like a unicorn on an island.

_"Tanned and rested and alone!"_

Flynn was pulled by his feet off the counter, held aloft by several of the thugs and ruffians.

_"Surrounded by ENORMOUS piles of money!"_

Hiccup and Carlos helped Rapunzel onto the tabletop where the two boys sang earlier.

"_I've got a dream!_" She waved eagerly.

"_She's got a dream!_" The thugs sang.

"_I've got a dream!_" Rapunzel sang,

"_She's got a dream!_" The thugs sang again.

"_I just wanna see the floating lanterns gleam!" _Rapunzel sang,

_And with every passing hour,_

_I'm so glad I left my tower!_

_Like all you lovely folks I've got a dream!_"

The thugs cheered as they raised their mugs and began to sing again.

"_She's got a dream_

_He's got a dream_

_They've got a dream_

_We've got a dream_

_So our differences ain't really that extreme_

_We're one big team!"_

Another thug grabbed Flynn and made him stand on the floor and Vladimir stomp on a plank which sent him flying and landing on the helmet on a hand stand on the guy's horns and Vladimir pushed him off and another thug caught him and put him on a barrel. Flynn was sent rolling on top of the barrel as he went through the thugs juggling torches and breathing fire.

"_Call us brutal_

_Sick_

_Sadistic_

_And grotesquely optimistic_

_'Cause way down deep inside, we've got a dream!"_

Then the thugs were swinging from candle chandeliers, men being tossed through windows and all around acting like complete and total idiots. The three couldn't help but smile and laugh at all of this.

"_I've got a dream_

_I've got a dream_

_I've got a dream_

_I've got a dream_

_I've got a dream_

_I've got a dream!"_

Then the bald thug and the nose thug danced with Rapunzel onto the table in the middle of the room as Hiccup and Carlos joined her. The three spread their arms out with glee as they sang the last verse with the thugs raising their mugs.

"_Yes, way down deep inside, I've got a dream!"_

"Yeah!" Everyone cheered as Rapunzel caught the creepy old drunk guy as he fell. They all laughed at this until Greto had to come back, slamming the door open with an over-excited expression of greed in his eyes.

"I found the guards!" He shouted into the stilled mess of dancing ruffians and the three teenagers. At that moment, Flynn were grabbed Rapunzel's hand as she grabbed Hiccup's and he grabbed Carlos and led them over the bar counter to duck and hide behind it as the Corona guardsmen came storming into the pub.

* * *

_Go out and chase your dreams no matter how crazy it looks. _

\- Shanice Williams


	14. Confessions

Chapter 14: Confessions

A/N:

'**Dragons**' – Dragonese

* * *

"Where's Rider? Where is he?!" The head guard snarled as he stormed inside, shoving the thug Greto out of the way. "Find him," He ordered the men behind him. "Turn the whole place _upside down_ if you have to!"

The four huddled under the bar winced collectively as his fist came down on the counter top with a slam. This was quite the situation. Not only did they have a homicidal horse after them, now there was a group of men looking for the thief who was traveling with the youngsters.

"What the hell did you do?!" Hiccup and Carlos mouthed at him. Flynn waved his hand dismissively which silently meant that they'd talk about it later. Waving at the other three to stay hidden, Flynn shifted just a little bit to take a small peak over top the counter to see how many guards were coming in. In his head, Flynn counted about five or six guards already inside, but that didn't mean there weren't more outside. Just as he thought this, two more guards walked in through the little door, and between him stood two tall men with cropped red hair and several scars over their identical faces. _The Stabbingtons_.

"Oh shit!" Flynn mumbled, hiding back under the bar.

Something tapped on the edge of the bar near Flynn's head. He and other three looked up and saw the Piano-playing Hook-thug looming over them, indicating something off to the right with his eyes. Crawling out of their hiding place, Hook-hand-thug pulled down one of the levers for the alcohol. But no ale came out of the tap; instead the floor let out a quiet groan and with a rattle of chains, a large trap door opened down into a dark, but dry cave.

"Go," Hook-hand told them with a smile, "Live your dream."

Flynn cheered up considerably. "I will."

"Your dream stinks," Hook-hand deadpanned and nodded to Rapunzel, Hiccup, and Carlos. "I was talkin' to them."

Annoyed, Flynn rolled his eyes and started crawling down into the cave. Glancing behind him when he could stand straight again, an unconscious frown tugged his lips downward.

"Where does this tunnel go?" Hiccup asked.

"Bout a three minute walk southwest," He explained quickly, glancing up toward the pub where the other thugs were trying and succeeding at stalling the guards. "It'll take you down to the damn at the bottom of the hill. Climb the rope ladder and make sure to take the tunnel to the right. There was a cave-in down the shaft that led to the river and it's a dead-end now."

"Thank you." Hiccup said, following Flynn.

"Thanks." Carlos complimented as he followed Hiccup. Then the two stopped and turned to Hook-hand.

"By the way, you're awesome at the piano." Carlos and Hiccup complimented in unison and went to follow Flynn. Hook-hand smiled at that.

"Thanks for everything." Blondie said to Hook-hand and gave the thug a small kiss on the cheek who continued to smile. Then she crawled after them. Once they were all in the tunnel, the door swung closed behind them a few moments later, and the light in the tunnel dimmed considerably. Hiccup took out his Inferno and it lite up the cave. They began walking down the tunnel. Then they noticed a lit torch up ahead. Along the way, they came up an empty lantern on the ground. Once they reached it, Flynn took it and Hiccup helped light the candle on the inside. After it was lite, he put the Inferno blade away and attached it back to his thigh. The walk in the tunnel was in silence except for their footsteps.

"So," Flynn began, examining a skewered skeleton tacked to the wall with a large cutlass, "Back there? Didn't think you had that in ya. It was pretty . . . impressive."

"I know!" She exclaimed in a cheery tone. But a second later she contained herself and repeated, calmer, "I know."

Flynn chuckled. The boys couldn't but chuckle as well. It was a relief that she was able to control her mood swings. They easily remembered how she reacted when she first left the tower.

"Soo," She repeated him and it got a raised eyebrow out of him. "Flynn . . . where ya from?"

"Woah-woah," Flynn protested, "Sorry, Blondie, I don't do backstory. However," He continued, "I'm becoming _very_ interested in _yours_."

"Now, I know I'm not supposed to mention the hair."

"Nope." She clarified.

"Or, the mother."

"Uh-uh."

"Frankly, I'm too scared to ask about the frog."

"Chameleon." She corrected, mimicking his face of wry amusement.

"Nuance," He waved it away. "Here's my question though. If you've wanted to see the lanterns so badly, why haven't you ever gone before?"

Rapunzel stopped walking, startled. "I . . . uh, well-"

She was interrupted by a pebble landing on her head. She blinked and looked down at where it landed, watching as the other rocks started to tremble slightly in their spots.

"Uh, guys?" She said nervously, looking back at Hiccup and Carlos who's faces started to morph to match hers. Far behind them, the tunnel was slowly starting to illuminate. The sound of running footsteps was getting closer.

"Guys?!" She repeated with wide eyes along with Flynn and the boys, voice shrill as the group of guards from back at the Snuggly Duckling came around the corner alarmingly fast.

"_RIDER!_"

"Run," Flynn yelled. "RUN!"

Hiccup and Carlos grabbed handfuls of Rapunzel's hair, and the four of them ran down the tunnel. The end of the tunnel came alarmingly fast and the sudden sunlight on their faces blinded them all for a brief moment. The tunnel opened out into a small canyon, barely a quarter-mile around. They stood on an open ledge and behind them were the large wooden wall of the dam Hook-hand-guy was talking about.

"There's the rope ladder!" Hiccup pointed at the ladder. "Let's go before-"

He was cut off when, down below, one of the boarded-up tunnels were smashed away, letting the Stabbington brothers into the canyon. The brothers glared up at Flynn when they spotted him on the ledge.

"Who are they?" Hiccup asked, glancing at the two brothers.

"They don't like me." Flynn replied, pointing at the two huge men. Then the four whirled around when the palace guards came bursting out behind them.

"Who are they?" Carlos asked, pointing at the guards.

"They don't like me either." Flynn repeated.

"Who's_ that_?" Rapunzel yelped when the angry white horse came from behind the guards.

Flynn grabbed her shoulders.

"Let's just all assume that everyone in here doesn't like me!" He ordered them all, exasperated.

Without warning, Rapunzel slammed her frying pan into Flynn's stomach, "Here!"

He grunted at the hit and looked at her, but she was already grabbing Carlos's arm and threw her hair over one of the beams holding up the massive dam. She tightened the grip on her hair and leaped off the ledge, dragging him with her as he let out a yelp. Then she landed on the next ledge with almost practiced ease.

"A warning would have been nice." Carlos stated.

"Sorry." Rapunzel apologized.

Flynn and Hiccup spun back around to find the head of the palace guards to be advancing on the two of them with weirdly pleased but furious look in his eyes.

"I waited a long time for this." He growled, tossing his torch aside. Flynn looked down at the teenage boy beside of him who took out inferno, then at the frying pan in his other hand. He made a little noise of distress. The head guard drew his sword and lunged. Flynn reacted without thinking, quickly smashing the side of the guard's head with the pan and creating a rather pleasing 'CLANG' noise when the pan connected to his shiny gold helmet. Hiccup dodged and slammed the blade on the back of the remaining guards' heads, knocking them out. The small fight was over in seconds, and as they stood there above the unconscious group of at least seven guards, Flynn held up the frying pan again with shock.

"Oh mama!" He cried, twirling the pan. "I have got to get me one of _these_!"

Another sword came at them and Flynn held up the pan again in an 'En guarde!' pose. He and Hiccup stared at the last standing 'swordsman' in disbelief. It was the horse, holding a dropped sword between his teeth, growling and whining threateningly. To Hiccup's point of view, it was very strange to see a horse holding a sword.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me." Hiccup muttered with a raised eyebrow.

Then the horse lunged at them. The two blocked every attack that the horse threw at them. But the horse seemed to be more on focused on Flynn. Hiccup had to admit that the horse had skills when it came to sword fighting.

"You should know that this is the strangest thing I've ever done!" Flynn declared.

Suddenly the horse knocked the frying pan out of Flynn's hand. The three of them watched it fall over the edge and heard the distant echoing clang when it hit the bottom. Flynn glanced back at the horse.

"How about two out of three?" He suggested, grinning sheepishly.

Then the horse aimed the sword in Flynn's face as he held his hands up.

"Flynn!" Rapunzel's voice called, and a second later the end of her hair was wrapping around his right hand. He looked blinked, then grinned. Hiccup quickly put inferno back in its case. Flynn grabbed him by his sleeve, tucking him under his arm as Rapunzel with startling strength yanked the two of them straight off the ledge. Hiccup latched onto Flynn as they flew through the air.

"Flynn!" Rapunzel called from above them. "Look out!"

Flynn looked back down, and yelped when he realized that he and Hiccup were swinging right toward the business ends of the Stabbington brothers' swords. Rapunzel gave her hair a sharp pull, lifting him and Hiccup just enough to sail harmlessly over the murderous duo's heads.

"Ha!" He shouted over his shoulder at them, "You should see your faces! Because you look-"

"Rider!" Hiccup cried out.

His stomach slammed into a beam sticking out of the dam's drain canal. "-ridiculous . . . " He finished, wheezing.

Hiccup scrambled onto the beam before he could drop him and attached inferno back onto his thigh. He took Flynn's hand and pulled him up after him. Then the sound of pounding caught their attention. When they turned, they saw the horse was slamming his hind legs against yet another support beam. Behind him, the guards were starting to come around. By the time they were standing up, the horse had succeeded in knocking the beam out. It busted a hole in the dam, but created an efficient bridge for them to cross to Rapunzel and Carlos. Thinking quickly, Hiccup took Rapunzel's hair and wrapped most of it around the beam that hit him. He took a firm grip on it and Flynn did the same, then they called out to the two on the ledge.

"Carlos!"

"Blondie!"

"Jump!"

Rapunzel and Carlos knew what Hiccup was doing instantly. Rapunzel pulled Carlos towards as he grabbed onto her and ran for the edge. Carlos latched onto Rapunzel as they jumped off the ledge. The horse was right behind them and stopped at the ledge with its teeth that was literal inches away from Blondie's hair. The horse's teeth closed without a single golden hair trapped between them. Flynn helped Hiccup quickly swing them to the ground. They skidded across a large puddle of water. The two turned and saw the Stabbington brothers behind them. They took off as Carlos scooped some of Rapunzel's hair.

"Come on!" The auburn boy shouted, grabbing Flynn by the arm and dragging him with him as they ran and slid down the drain canal. Their combined weight, however, was too much for the waterlogged and old wood, they found themselves knocking the entire thing over as they fell. The second their feet hit the rough ground and they rolled and stumbled to ground to get their footing back as they bent down and scooped up some of Rapunzel hair and followed after Rapunzel and Carlos with Hiccup behind him. At that moment, the wood of the dam burst and water began pouring rapidly into the mine. Having no other choice, they ran towards the nearest tunnel to the mine. A creak and a groan rocked the ground under their feet; one of the boulders used for a walkway was buckling under the water's force. Flynn shoved Rapunzel into the tunnel, tossing her balled up hair into her arms. He stood at the entrance, making sure that Carlos and Hiccup made it in too. Water was pooling around his feet, the thief had just enough time to grab the frying pan the horse had knocked from his hand before the boulder came crashing down at the entrance. It instantly went dark in the tunnel and it began to fill with rushing water. Then they began to scramble to look for another exit. Flynn and Carlos started to try shoving at the rocks in the wall, trying in vain to knock them out of the way. Rapunzel and Hiccup took out their pan and shield and tried to smack or stab the rocks away. Flynn and Carlos were clawing at the rocks, doing their very best to make them budge. They didn't give up until Flynn's hand slipped, and he cursed loudly before giving up and turned to dive into the water. Hiccup and Rapunzel kept hitting the rocks, but nothing was working. The water was rising even higher. Flynn's head broke the surface, gasping.

"It's no use!" He sputtered. "I can't see anything!"

Rapunzel sucked in a deep breath, imitating Flynn, and dove under. The thief was quick to grab her, pulling her back from the water.

"There's no point!" He told her sternly, brushing wet hair out of her eyes. "It's pitch black down there!"

Rapunzel stared at Flynn with shock and leaned herself against the rock wall with the two boys.

"This is all my fault," Rapunzel admitted and placed her hand against her hand, "She was right. I never should've done this."

She soon began to sniff and placed her hand down to her side.

"I'm so…I'm so sorry guys." Rapunzel apologized as she started to cry.

" . . . Eugene." Flynn said.

Hiccup, Carlos, and Rapunzel all turned to where Flynn was across from them. He looked up with a sigh and a slight, not quite there smile. "My real name is Eugene Fitzherbert. Someone might as well know."

"I'm actually a Viking." Hiccup stated.

"A Viking? You don't-" 'Eugene' began to say.

"Look like one, I know," Hiccup interrupted, glaring at the water, "I'm the chief's son and an embarrassment to my father and my entire tribe. So I ran away from my so called 'home'."

"I've been feeling a little homesick since I left home." Carlos admitted, looking down at the water, "I didn't think that I would be joining my parents so soon."

"What about you, blondie?" He said in a surprisingly gentle tone. "Anything you want to get off your chest before . . . " He trailed off.

The water was at their shoulders.

Rapunzel rubbed her nose and grinned weakly. "I have magic hair that glows when I sing."

Flynn's tone was remarkably deadpan. "What?"

"I have . . . magic hair that glows when I sing!" Rapunzel repeated, eyes slowly widening as she realized what her hair can do. The water came to their chins. Rapunzel used her last breath to gasp out:

"_Flower gleam and glow!_

_Let your power SHINE!_"

Before the water filled their small cavern completely as the dark swallowed everything. Unexpectedly, a butter-yellow light sparkled across Rapunzel's scalp. The glow traveled down Rapunzel's several dozen feet of hair, Hiccup and Carlos were amazed at it. So Rapunzel was right; her hair really _does_ glow!

Flynn did almost lost his breath. The boys heard the bubbles rush out of his mouth before he grabbed his lips to hold them shut. Hiccup hit him in the arm then pointed with his other hand to a bit of Rapunzel's hair, following the flow of the water towards a wall. It was the way out! Then all four swam down and started grabbing at rocks as fast as they could. The glow from Rapunzel's hair was starting to fade. They worked faster.

The light dimmed before they could finish but they still grabbed as many rocks as they could. Before they knew it the stone wall was crumbling and the water came rushing out all at once, dragging the four bodies inside with it. Soon enough all four heads broke from the water and landed on the bank of the river.

"We made it." Rapunzel said as she pulled her hand back and the others panted who were glad to be out of the flooded cave and being able to breathe in the open air again.

"Her hair glows." Eugene said with wide eyes in disbelief.

"We're alive. I'm alive." Rapunzel declared with a smile as she got up and picked up her frying pan and went to get her hair out of the water. Hiccup picked up his shield as he and Carlos got up and joined to help her.

"I didn't see that coming." Eugene said as he pushed his hair back.

"Eugene." Rapunzel called out.

"Her hair actually glows." Eugene said as he turned to Pascal.

"Eugene." Rapunzel called out.

"Why does her hair glow?!" Eugene shouted.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel shouted.

"WHAT?!" Eugene exclaimed with panicking wide eyes.

"It doesn't just _glow_." Rapunzel stated.

Eugene glanced at Pascal who smiled at him.

"Why he's smiling at me?" Eugene asked with distress while holding his injured hand as he looked at Rapunzel and back to Pascal.

* * *

_Negative emotions like loneliness, envy, and guilt have an important role to play in a happy life; they're big, flashing signs that something needs to change. _

\- Gretchen Rubin


	15. Bring Back What Once Was Mine

Chapter 15: Bring Back What Once Was Mine

A/N:

*I like to thank to username **Mariah** for giving me this idea about Rapunzel's hair

'**Dragons**' – Dragonese

* * *

After getting all of Rapunzel's hair out of the river, the group was reunited with the dragons. The boys went to get fish for dinner as the rest started the fire (with Sharpshot's help) to get warm along with drying Rapunzel's hair. Once the boys came back with the fish and placed them on sticks around the fire. They soon sat down against their dragons to watch the fishes cook, Rapunzel noticed that Eugene kept cradling and flexing his left hand.

"Eugene, are you okay?" Rapunzel asked as she gently grabbed his hand.

She gasped when she saw the big cut on his palm.

"Just cut it on the rocks," He explained to her, closing his fist. "Don't worry about it."

"Let me see." Rapunzel ordered, firmly and pulled his hand back, opening his fist for her poker-faced inspection. She hummed for a moment thoughtfully, "I can fix that."

"How are you going to do that exactly?" Carlos asked, brow arched.

"Um…" Rapunzel hummed.

"Toothless can help as well." Hiccup interjected, pointing at Toothless.

"How?" Eugene asked, brow arched.

"His saliva. A night fury's saliva is known to have healing properties." Hiccup explained.

"No thanks. I don't want dragon spit on my hand." Eugene rejected the idea.

"Just a suggestion." Hiccup shrugged.

Then Rapunzel pulled Eugene over to the log nearby and sat across from him as she collected a handful of her magic golden glowing hair began to wrap it around his hand. Eugene stared at her awkwardly.

"So you're being strangely cryptic as you wrap your magic hair around my injured hand." Eugene stated before he winced at the pain.

"Sorry, just don't…don't freak out." Rapunzel begged.

Eugene looked at his injured hand and then back at Rapunzel who sighed at his look. Once she had wrapped enough of her hair around Eugene's hand, she laid it down on her lap and took a deep breath as she closed her eyes.

"_Flower, gleam and glow,_

_Let your power shine,_

_Make the clock reverse,_

_Bring back what once was mine_ . . . "

Just like inside the cavern, the glow began at her scalp, and after a moment, traveled through her roots and down through the cascading locks of golden hair. The boys and their dragons stared at her glowing hair with wonder and fascination. Eugene sat up a little straighter, following the glow as it made its way through Rapunzel's hair and into the knot tied around his hand. He flexed his fingers out and looked up at Pascal. He smirked and pointed to one of his feet, indicating the spot where he'd injured himself.

"_Heal what has been hurt,_

_Change the Fates' design,_

_Save what has been lost,_

_Bring back what once was mine,_

_What once . . . was mine_."

Her voice echoed through the trees as the song ended along with glow from her hair, and for a long time, the only sound around their little campsite was the sound of the fire crackling. Then, after a few long tense moments, Rapunzel opened her eyes and lifted her gaze, shyly peering up at Eugene from between her lashes. Eugene pulled his hand away and her fingers were limp as they released him. He stared at her as he unwrap her hair from his hand. He looked down at his hand and all the air in his chest rushed out with a pitched whimper of "Oh."

Eugene swallowed thickly and turned his hand around to show them. His palm was free of any shape or form of the gash that had been there moments before. Eugene sucked in a large breath.

"Pleasedon'tfreakout!" Rapunzel flinched forward before he could scream, her hands held out to him pleadingly. Eugene let out a dull squeak and coughed, closing his mouth. He closed his fist and tucked it under his chin, rocking a bit on the log.

"Freaking out I'm not freaking out are you freaking out I'm just very interested in your hair and the magic qualities it possesses how long has it been doing that exactly?" Eugene asked with a sheepish smile.

Rapunzel let out a shaky chuckle and leaned back. "Forever, I guess?" She shrugged, her smile faint. It faded with a small sigh. "Mother says that when I was a baby, people tried to cut it. They wanted to take for themselves. But once it's cut, it turns brown and loses its power." She leaned forward and turned a bit, pulling the hair off the back of her neck to show everyone the one small spot at the nape of her neck that grew brown, instead of blond. "A gift like that, it has to be protected. That's why mother never let me…" Rapunzel sighed, "That's why I never left and . . . "

"You never . . . left that tower." Hiccup finished for her.

She nodded.

"And . . . you're still going to go back?" Eugene asked.

"No." Rapunzel's shoulders drooped. "Yes?" She dropped her head into her hands as Pascal sat by her left foot. "It's complicated."

Silence descended on them again. The crackling fire sent shadows flickering across their faces. The two boys gave the fish to their dragons as Carlos pulled his right leg to his chest while his left was stretched out and wrapped his right arm around his knee with a sigh while leaning on Cielo who nuzzled him when he finished his fish. Hiccup carefully adjusted the rocks inside the fire with a stick. Toothless and Sharpshot finished their fish and nuzzled Hiccup's face. Rapunzel let out a deep breath and pulled her hair back out of her face. She chanced a look at Eugene, cleared her throat, and fought for a smile.

"So," She began, changing the subject and catching their attention. "Eugene Fitzherbert, huh?"

Eugene blinked at her and the two younger teens sitting against their dragons before them, then back. He sighed, dropping his head, but his shoulders shook with a chuckle.

"Heh, no getting out of this one, huh?" He shook his head. "Well, I'll spare you the sob story of poor orphan Eugene Fitzherbert. It's a little bit of…it's a bit of a downer."

Rapunzel grinned and scooted a bit closer to him on the log. Carlos pulled out both his legs and Cielo raised his head, looking up at Eugene. Hiccup just grinned and scratched Toothless behind his ear-fins and Sharpshot's chin. The dragons purred in respond. Eugene stared at all the expectant faces looking up at him. He sighed.

"There was this book," He began finally, and the other three broke into even bigger grins at the start of his story. "A book I used to read to every night to all of the younger kids: The Tales of Flynnigan Rider. Swashbuckling rouge, richest man alive," He leaned over to Rapunzel and stage-whispered "Not bad with the ladies, either. Not that he would ever brag about it, of course."

Rapunzel giggled. "Was he a thief, too?"

Eugene paused. "Well . . . no. Actually, he had enough money to do anything that he wanted to do; he could go anywhere he wanted to go . .and for a kid, with nothing . . . " He lowered his eyes to the grass. "I don't know . . . just seemed like the better option."

There was a look of sorrow in his eyes at that moment. Hiccup could tell that he was going through memories that weren't so great. Then Eugene turned to Rapunzel.

"You can't tell anyone about this, okay? It could ruin my whole reputation." Eugene stated.

"Ah, we wouldn't want that." Rapunzel teased.

"Well a fake reputation is all a man has." Eugene said.

The group chuckled at that. Then Eugene cleared his throat and shook his head, focusing on the younger teenagers before him. "Well, enough about me. I'd like to know about you two, actually. You already know me and blondie's backstories, now it's your turn."

"Well, I'm from the kingdom of Avalor." Carlos began.

"Avalor?" Eugene asked.

"Yes, it's a beautiful city on the continent of Spain. I lived there ever since I was born." Carlos smiled before he frowned, "However I was born during a dark time in Avalor."

"What do you mean?" Rapunzel asked.

"Forty-one years ago, a power hungry witch named Shuriki vanquished the royal family and took over the kingdom. However, Princess Elena, survived when she became trapped in an amulet while her grandparents and little sister were put in a magical painting. Alacazar, the Royal Wizard, who's also my grandfather, found the amulet and went off on a journey to find a way to get Elena out. But it took longer than he thought. So he used the last of his magic to transform himself into a book, hoping that a princess would find him and try to free Elena." Carlos paused, "Hiccup arrived the day before Princess Sofia showed up at my aunt's house. Apparently, she was searching for my grandfather's spirit animal guide, Zuzo. My cousin, Mateo, was able to summon him and he told us how to get her out."

"What did you have to do?" Rapunzel questioned, interested in Carlos's story.

"Well Sofia had to get Shuriki's wand and wrap the amulet around it. Then bring it to a magical statue that can undo any magical mishaps. Once Sofia got the wand, all of us headed towards where the statue was. Sofia was able to do the task and freed Elena from the amulet. Then we snuck into the castle and freed the rest of Elena's family. After that, we and the citizens of Avalor rebelled against Shuriki and were able to stop her reign of control." Carlos finished.

"Wow. That's quite an adventure." Rapunzel amazed.

"Thanks, Rapunzel. I have to admit that my adventure isn't really over yet." Carlos admitted.

"Okay dragon boy, what's your story?" Eugene asked, turning to Hiccup.

"Where do I start?" Hiccup pondered.

"How about you tell us where you're from?" Rapunzel suggested.

Hiccup took a deep breath and let it out. He never liked talking about his former home before finding his mother. But he had to. Toothless nuzzled him as he warbled, encouraging him to speak. He smiled at his friend before he started the story.

"I'm from the island of Berk, which is to the far north. The people of my village killed dragons for necessity. It's a really bad problem because there's just so many and they're always attacking our livestock and setting our houses on fire. But sometime later, people weren't killing them because we had to any more. It became a sport. They started killing them because it got you status; popularity, fame. If you can kill a dragon, it meant that you are one of them. The stronger the dragon you killed, the more popularity you were given. More dragons, longer that attention lasted." He sighed.

"You never killed any …did you?" Rapunzel asked hesitantly.

Hiccup laughed, but the sound was spiteful.

"No, I couldn't even take down a Terrible Terror if my life depended on it. They're the smallest and the least-dangerous dragons we know of, which is what Sharpshot is. So, I was pretty much at the bottom of the social ladder for most of my life. But because of my lacking strength and small stature, all of the other teens would bully and make fun of me. The adults would just ignore me or throw rotten food at me. I knew that I was a disappointment to my dad and a constant reminder of my mother who was taken by a dragon when I was a baby. To be most precise, he mostly ignored me most of my life."

"Okay, so," Eugene interrupted. "Where does the bad-breathed-lizard enter the picture?"

"**I dare you to say that again**." Toothless growled. Hiccup patted him to calm him down.

"I'm getting to that. Since I didn't have the 'physical' capabilities needed to fight dragons without getting myself killed, my dad put me up to work as an apprentice for his friend, the blacksmith, Gobber." Hiccup explained.

Eugene snorted.

"Shut up. Hideous names are supposed to ward off evil," Hiccup stated, "Anyway. One night there was an attack on the village, my dad and Gobber ordered me to stay inside. Now, I might not be very good with an axe or a shield, but I can probably make you anything you want. I'd be building a machine, which I called it the bola launcher, I could use it to take down a dragon for me. Once its down, I could kill it and then everyone would stop treating me like I was . . . well… a hiccup. Only," He turned to look at Toothless, the dragon's injured tail curling around him, "When I finally manage to take a dragon down . . . nobody believed me. So I had to go out and find him on my own. And I did."

Toothless eyed the smoldering fire and shot a quick blast at it, renewing the flame and making everyone but Hiccup and Carlos jump.

Hiccup sighed, laying his head against Toothless's neck who crooned when he noticed that Hiccup was feeling sad. "But when I got there . . . I couldn't do it. He was helpless, defenseless. I just . . . " His shoulders drooped, "So I set him free."

For a moment, there were no sounds except for the cackling of the fire and the shifting of cloth. Hiccup looked up and found Rapunzel sitting on her knees before him. She stretched out her hand and squeezed his hand. A gentle smile was on her face.

"I think you made the right decision, Hiccup." She admitted.

Hiccup smiled back, "Thanks, Rapunzel."

"So how did you two become friends?" Rapunzel asked.

"The night after I set Toothless free, my dad signed me up for dragon training where the younger kids are taught how to kill dragons. The first lesson didn't go so well and I luckily survived. Afterwards, I went looking for the dragon and found a trail that lead to a cove where I found him. As I studied him, I noticed that his left tail fin was missing. I soon realized that my bola launcher had somehow ripped off his left tail fin. Gobber had said that 'a down dragon is a dead dragon'. Feeling guilty that he had lost his skill of flight, I used my smith skills to make him a prosthetic tail."

"So that's what all of those metals and attachments are for?" Rapunzel asked, gazing at Toothless's prosthetic tail.

"Yeah, but the problem is that he can't use it on his own. I have to fly with him in order to make it work. I helped him learn how to fly again and he became my friend." Hiccup said as he scratched Toothless's neck who purred at Hiccup's fingers.

"But why did you leave?" Eugene asked, curious to why the boy would leave his home.

"I used all of the knowledge I got from Toothless and was able to pacify the dragons that were used in training. To my tribe, they thought I was able to take down dragons." Hiccup stated.

"So in other words, you cheated?" Eugene questioned.

"Yup." Hiccup answered.

"Why?" Eugene asked.

"It was the only way I could prevent the dragons from getting hurt by the other trainees." Hiccup explained, "And because of that knowledge, I was moved up in my class and received the honor of killing the Monstrous Nightmare which is a big dragon that's able to light themselves on fire." He sighed as he closed his eyes and then opened them as he let a sigh of defeat, "I didn't want to do it. So I packed some of my stuff and flew off with Toothless."

"Do you regret it?" Eugene asked.

"No," Hiccup replied, "But then I discovered the truth behind the dragon raids."

"The truth? What was it?" Eugene questioned.

"As it turned out, there was a dragon that was the size of a mountain, living in a volcano, who was forcing dragons to gather food for her or she'll eat them if they don't bring enough." Hiccup paused.

Rapunzel gasped with wide eyes as she put her hands over her mouth.

"So Toothless and I fought against her and won, but," Hiccup placed his hand on his left prosthetic leg, "I lost my leg."

Rapunzel and Eugene gazed at Hiccup with sympathy in their eyes.

"After the battle, I went unconscious and woke up in a cave. A woman had found me on the island and took care of me. I later found out that she was my long lost mother." Hiccup smiled at the memory of when he reunited with his mother.

"Wait, I thought you said that your mother was taken and eaten by a dragon." Eugene stated with an eyebrow arched.

"I did. But the dragon who took her brought her to a dragon sanctuary where she rescues captured dragons from dragon trappers." Hiccup explained.

"So your mother had been rescuing dragons since she arrived at the sanctuary?" Rapunzel asked.

"Yeah," Hiccup answered, "If I hadn't met Toothless, I never would have found my mother."

Rapunzel, Eugene, and Carlos smiled softly at his words. But then Rapunzel gazed at Hiccup's left leg and her smile faded. She felt bad for Hiccup. He went through such terrible ordeals once he was born. She could easily tell that he felt guilty for making Toothless flightless. But he was able to make up for it. Then she glanced at her hair and back at Hiccup's leg and Toothless's tail. An idea came to her mind.

"Hiccup." Rapunzel said.

"Yeah?" Hiccup asked.

"Can I try my hair on Toothless's tail and your leg?" Rapunzel suggested.

Hiccup's eyes widened and Toothless's head shot up at her words. Get their missing limbs back? Could Rapunzel's hair really do that?

"Is that possible?" Hiccup questioned, shocked.

"I don't really know. I've never tried it. It will be my first attempt," Rapunzel admitted, "But could I try anyway?"

Hiccup gazed at Rapunzel and turned to Toothless who was also shocked at Rapunzel's offer to restore their missing limbs. But Hiccup wondered what would happen if Toothless got his left tail fin back.

"Toothless, would you still stay with me if you do get your left tail fin back?" Hiccup asked, uncertain.

"**Of course I'll stay. You're the first friend who accepted me as I am and you're the brother I've never had**." Toothless answered as he rubbed Hiccup's cheek with his own.

Hiccup smiled at that as he gently scratched under Toothless's chin. He was glad that his friend would stay with him.

"**Don't forget me**." Sharpshot interjected.

Hiccup and Toothless laughed at that. Hiccup turned to Rapunzel who was waiting for his answer.

"Okay then, let's try." Hiccup confirmed.

Then he and Carlos help remove Toothless's prosthetic tail. Once it was removed, Hiccup easily took off his prosthetic leg to reveal the stump of his left leg. Rapunzel moved over to Hiccup and wrapped her hair around his stump and then around Toothless's tail. She went over to sit next to Hiccup.

"Ready." Hiccup nodded.

Rapunzel nodded. Then took a deep breath as she closed her eyes and let it out before she soon began to sing,

"_Flower, gleam and glow,_

_Let your power shine,_

_Make the clock reverse,_

_Bring back what once was mine_ . . . "

The glow began at her scalp once again, and soon traveled through her roots and down through her cascading locks. The hair around Hiccup's leg began to glow which soon flowed over to the hair that was wrapped around Toothless's tail. A light began to form from his leg which widened his eyes and a warm feeling was enveloping around it.

"_Heal what has been hurt,_

_Change the Fates' design,_

_Save what has been lost,_

_Bring back what once was mine,_

_What once . . . was mine_."

Once the glow faded from her hair, Rapunzel gazed at Hiccup and Toothless, waiting for their response. Hiccup looked at his leg with shock as he slowly unwrap Rapunzel's hair from his leg and reached out and touched his left foot. His left foot…was back. He turned over to Toothless and unwrapped Rapunzel's hair around his tail: his left tail fin was back too! Toothless was staring at his left tail fin with wonder. Hiccup carefully got to his feet and started to fall backwards. Luckily Toothless stopped his fall by leaning his head against Hiccup's back and helped him stand up on his two feet. He continued to stare at his restored left leg as he wiggled it around while Toothless kept opening and closing his tail fins. Rapunzel stood up as the pair was still in shock.

"Well, it looks like it worked." Rapunzel confirmed, which broke the two's attention on their restored limbs. Hiccup turned towards Rapunzel and wrapped his arms around her and twirled with her as he cheered which Rapunzel wrapped her arms around him as well. Soon enough, Carlos and Flynn joined in on the hug and cheered at the outcome. Then Toothless joined in the hug, causing them all to fall to the ground with Toothless on top of them. This caused them to all chuckle.

"Okay Toothless, could you get off for a moment?" Hiccup asked.

Toothless got off them and sat down as everyone got to their feet.

"Thank you so much, Rapunzel." Hiccup thanked.

Toothless walked up to her and started nudging her side.

"**Rapunzel, you're the best!**" Toothless warbled.

"What did Toothless say?" Rapunzel asked, scratching Toothless's chin who purred at her touch.

"He's very grateful towards you for restoring our limbs." Hiccup translated, smiled.

"You're welcome." Rapunzel replied.

"No _really_, thank you." Hiccup smiled.

Rapunzel smiled back at the two as Toothless nudged her cheek which made her chuckle.

"Not be rude or anything, but how you are going to get another boot for your leg?" Eugene asked, pointing at Hiccup's left leg that had no boot.

Hiccup pondered for a moment and then snapped his fingers before he went over to his basket and began rummaging through it. Then he pulled out a left boot and sock.

"Where did you get those, Hiccup?" Carlos asked.

"My mom got my new boots and socks as pairs and couldn't really get just one. So she gave me the left ones in case of anything." Hiccup explained.

"Well, it's a good thing she did." Carlos stated with a smile.

Hiccup bent down and put his left sock on followed by the left boot. Hiccup moved his leg around and wiggled his foot, trying to get used of using both feet again.

"Yeah, this is going to take some getting used to," Hiccup said and turned over to Toothless, "I should probably fix up your saddle since you won't need the prosthetic anymore."

"**Okay,**" Toothless grunted, "**But can we keep it just in case?**"

"Sure, why not?" Hiccup shrugged.

Hiccup and Carlos began to take off the cables on that were attached to Toothless's saddle. Once the prosthetic fin was fully off, Hiccup packed it into his basket along with his leg prosthetic. Hiccup couldn't believe that he had his leg back. It was unbelievable that he had his leg back. He didn't know how to thank Rapunzel. There a silence among the campsite as everyone was doing their own thing. Rapunzel kept glancing at Eugene when he wasn't looking and when she wasn't looking, Eugene was looking at her. When they caught each other's glances and quickly looked away from each other. Eugene coughed into his hand and stood up.

"W-well, uh. Hey, look at that. We're almost out of firewood. Come on, you two. Let's go get some more." Eugene said before grabbing the two boys onto their feet.

The two decided to go with him anyway since they finished their own tasks. But Sharpshot decided to come as well to keep the three company and hoped to help them in any way.

"Hey," Rapunzel called out, Eugene and the boys stopped and turned towards her, "For the record, I like Eugene Fitzherbert _much_ _better_ than Flynn Rider."

That shocked Eugene Fitzherbert. He never thought that someone would like his real name instead of his thief identity.

"Well, then you'd be the first." He chuckled as he held his hand and looked over at Rapunzel, "But thank you."

Then the three turned around and headed towards the forest. The boys noticed that Eugene kept flexing his hand as they walked. Rapunzel gave a small chuckle as she watched them leave the campsite. Suddenly Toothless and Cielo let out a growl and tensed up. Rapunzel looked down at them. "Toothless, Cielo, what is it?"

"Well," Commented a new voice that echoed around their campsite. Rapunzel went rigid, terror flashing across her face, "I thought they'd _never_ leave."

Rapunzel whirled around as Toothless and Cielo sprung forward, planting themselves between Rapunzel and the newcomer.

" . . . mother?" Rapunzel questioned.

* * *

_Don't Judge yourself by your past. You don't live there anymore._

\- Unknown


	16. Thoughts, Deals, and Rude Awakenings

Chapter 16 – Thoughts, Deals, and Rude Awakenings

A/N:

'**Dragons**' – Dragonese

* * *

"Hello, dear." 'Mother' greeted, who was also known as Gothel, as she took off her hood.

Pascal cowered away from the voice and blended into the log. Rapunzel stood quickly off the fallen log and stepped back, shaking her head. Gothel simply made her way around the dragons toward Rapunzel.

"B-but- how did you-" Gothel took her arms and pulled her into a hug, "How did you find me?"

Gothel hummed, smoothing her hand gently down the back of Rapunzel's head. "Oh, it was easy, really," she said easily completely ignoring Toothless and Cielo as they stood a few steps away, "I just listened to the sound of _complete_ and _utter_ betrayal and followed _that_."

Rapunzel sighed, "Mother . . . "

Gothel pulled away before she could finish.

"We're going home, Rapunzel," she said firmly and took her wrist in an iron grip. "Now." Rapunzel stumbled a few steps forward as her mother yanked her forward. She pulled her arm free and stepped back.

"N-no, mother, wait," she insisted with a light shake of her head and a weak smile. "You don't understand. I've been on this _incredible_ journey and I've done and seen _so much_! I've made new friends, and-"

"Yes, yes," Gothel cut her off quickly. "The wanted thief, two adventurous boys and a couple of flying lizards, I'm so proud. Now," the woman reached for Rapunzel's wrist again and when she caught it, managed to pull her another few feet away from their small campsite. "Come on, Rapunzel."

Toothless lowered his body to the ground, lips curling back from his teeth. A low growl rumbled out of him and Cielo. Both dragons could sense that something was off, and neither liked it.

"Mother, _please_!" This time when Rapunzel pulled free, she used such a force that it nearly knocked Gothel off her balance.

"Just, just listen to me, please." She begged. "These are . . . they're my friends, and they're . . . they're helping me. They promised to take me to the see the lanterns and get me home safe, so you don't have to-"

Gothel's eyes narrowed slightly. "And . . . you trust them: a group of strangers?"

"I do," Rapunzel said honestly. "They . . . they wouldn't hurt me. Right, guys?" She turned to the dragons who bowed their heads in an honest nod. Gothel's scowl deepened. "Everyone's been so nice to me, mother. Hiccup, Carlos, Sharpshot, Toothless, Cielo . . . even Eugene . . . " She turned her gaze downward and her smile became shy. "Mother," she whispered. "I think . . . I think he likes me . . . "

There was a trace of hope in her voice: a hope in her eyes and in her heart that had never been there before. It blossomed more as she spent time with her new friends who were helping her achieve her dream. But Gothel was able pounced on it quick as lightning and fully intending on tearing it to shreds.

"_'Likes you_'?" She repeated, her voice was sarcastic and sweetly toxic. "Please, Rapunzel, that's _demented_!" She stepped around her daughter and rolled her eyes, laughing.

Rapunzel's shoulders lowered slightly, and she sighed in a sort of long-suffering manner. Toothless and Cielo didn't like this woman. They couldn't understand why this woman won't let Rapunzel experience a little bit of the outside world.

"Mother, I-" Rapunzel began.

"This is why you never should have left!" Gothel spoke over her daughter before she'd even fully taken the breath speak. It became clear that the woman had no interest in hearing anything that Rapunzel had to say. "Dear, this whole _romance_ that you've invented around these _strangers_? It just proves that you're too naive to be here."

Rapunzel's eyes widened at her mother's argument. Despite it, however, she was ignored.

"Why would he like you, come on now, really?" Gothel asked. She caressed the side of Rapunzel's cheek upwards toward her hair, and pulled two handful of her blond mane out to shove in her face like it was an example. "Just look at you, do you think that's he's impressed?"

Gothel all but threw Rapunzel's hair at her when the girl pulled away. Toothless and Cielo were scowling at the woman who's Rapunzel's mother. They hated this woman by the second.

"Don't be a dummy," Gothel cooed. "Come, with mummy." She stepped back, toward the trail in the woods. She stood silhouetted against the white of the fog rising up around and behind her, the stark cold darkness in sharp contrast with the glowing warmth of their small campfire. "_Mother_ . . . "

"No!"

The finality in Rapunzel's voice startled them all, even herself. Everyone's attention fixed on her for several tense heartbeats, on her furrowed eyebrows and clenched fists until Gothel slowly lowered her arms.

" . . . '_no_'?" Her voice drifted through the clearing dangerously low. "Oh. I see how it is."

The tall woman drifted her way over in a few short steps, her skirt swirling.

"_Rapunzel knows best!_

_Rapunzel's so mature, now!_

_Such a clever grown-up miss!_"

She patted Rapunzel's head while stroking her cheek as she walked away.

"_Rapunzel knows best!_" Gothel continued to mock.

"_Fine, if you're so sure, then,_

_Go ahead and give him this!_"

Rapunzel gasped when Gothel had reached into her cape and pulled out the brown leather shoulder bag- Eugene's satchel. Shaking her head in disbelief, Rapunzel whispered, "H-How did you-"

_"_This_ is why he's here!" _Gothel pulled the crown out of the bag, and held it up in front of Rapunzel's face.

"_Don't let him deceive you!_

_Give it to him, watch, you'll see!_"

She shoved away and tossed the crown at Rapunzel, who just barely managed to catch it. Rapunzel stood holding the crown, staring down into the crystals and jewels sparkling back at her. She swallowed and turned her eyes back up onto Gothel.

"I will!" Rapunzel declared, defiantly, and put back her shoulders.

"_Trust me, my dear," _Gothel snapped her fingers.

"_That's how fast he'll leave you!_

_I won't say 'I told you so!-"_

Then Gothel placed the satchel's strap around Rapunzel's shoulder and twirled with her before she let go.

"_No, Rapunzel knows best!_

_So if he's such a dreamboat_

_Go and put him to the test!_"

Gothel turned, and in a great sweeping arch of her cloak and skirt, she returned to the edge of their clearing.

"Mother, wait!" Rapunzel called out.

"_If he's lying,_

_Don't come crying!_

_Mother knows best!"_

Gothel turned on her heel with the sweep of her cloak, disappeared into the fog behind her. Rapunzel tightened her hold on the golden edges of the crown as her mother's cloaked form disappeared into the fog and darkness.

"**Rapunzel?**" Toothless warbled as he went over to Rapunzel and nudged her shoulder.

She looked over at him and sighed as she placed her hand on his head.

"Please don't tell them, you two." Rapunzel begged Toothless and Cielo. The two dragons looked at each other and then nodded at Rapunzel, "Thanks you guys."

"Hey, blondie!"

Eugene's voice caused both Rapunzel and the dragons jump. Rapunzel quickly put the crown back into the satchel and hid it nearby, "Could you settle an argument for us?"

"Is there any chance that I'm going to end up with super strength in my hand?" Eugene asked them as he approached with a large bundle of large dry sticks in his hands. Hiccup and Carlos came up not far behind, rolling their eyes as they carried a smaller bunch plentiful pile of their own along with Sharpshot. "Because, I'm not going to lie, that would be stupendous."

When the four arrived at the campsite, they noticed that Rapunzel seemed quiet for some strange reason.

"Hey, you guys alright?" Eugene asked.

"Did something happen?" Hiccup asked.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," Rapunzel answered, pushing her hair back and turned towards them, "Just lost in thoughts, I guess."

Hiccup and Carlos glanced at each other and then to their dragons who shook their heads, which meant that they didn't want to talk about it.

"I mean because here's the thing!" Eugene continued, kneeling down to start putting all of their firewood into a pile. "Superhuman good looks? I always had 'em, born with it!"

"You're not that good-looking," Hiccup muttered dryly, and sat down near the fire with a wry smile playing at the corner of his lips. Toothless walked around behind him and placed his large head into the boy's lap.

"Shush." Eugene glared at him. "But superhuman strength? Can you imagine the possibilities of it!?"

"My father was able to lift all kinds of things as he got older. He can lift an entire tree without breaking a sweat." Hiccup interjected.

"I have to admit that your people able to lift anything, but what about a house?" Eugene questioned.

"We never did anything like that or a need to." Hiccup commented, shrugged, "But I've already told him that it's not going to happen."

"Excuse me!" Eugene snapped and jabbed a stick in Hiccup's direction. "You have a dragon and she has magic hair! Who knows what else is possible around here!"

"**Possibly that crazy white horse who's searching endlessly for you.**" Cielo commented cheekily which made Hiccup, Toothless, Carlos, and Sharpshot chuckle.

"Okay, what did he say?" Eugene asked.

"You're better off not knowing." Hiccup smiled.

Eugene brow arched at that. He knew that the boys and their dragons knew something.

"Let's get some shut eye. We have a quite a walk before we reach the kingdom." Carlos advised.

"Good idea." Rapunzel agreed.

Then the group got comfortable on the ground; Rapunzel wrapped herself in her hair, Toothless wrapped his wings around Hiccup and Sharpshot, Cielo wrapped his wings around Carlos while Eugene slept on the ground with his head on a boulder for a pillow.

* * *

Morning had finally come and the group was still asleep at the moment. Eugene was slowly waking up when he felt water dripping on his face. When he opened his eyes, half lid, he saw the pure white horse with pure fury on his face that was still wet from the river dam that collapsed yesterday.

"Well I hope you're here to apologize." Eugene said before trying to go back to sleep. Then the realization finally hit him.

A scream made all the teens lurch upright and spotted the pure white horse that had one of Eugene's feet in his teeth, dragging him quickly away no matter how hard he was digging his hands into the dirt to slow the horse down.

"No! No! No! Put me down!" Eugene yelled.

The three teens quickly scrambled to their feet and gave chase. Rapunzel was the first to reach him and grabbed his wrists, pulling with all her might. Then Hiccup wrapped his arms around her waist while Carlos brought up the rear.

"Give . . . me . . . him!" Rapunzel grunted out from between her teeth.

Toothless and Cielo decided to join in. Toothless wrapped his arms around Carlos and Cielo wrapped his wings around Toothless's shoulders. They gave one last sharp yank which made Eugene's foot pop out from inside his boot and made the horse fall on his butt. The four humans immediately went flying backwards and landed in a pile at the base of a tree while Carlos landed on Toothless's stomach.

"Thanks, Cielo." Carlos thanked.

"**You're welcome**." Cielo warbled.

"Thanks, bud." Hiccup thanked.

"**Not a problem**." Toothless warbled.

The horse shook off his surprise, tossing his mane and whinnying with disapproval. He got back up onto his feet and charged at them, both ears back in fury. Rapunzel quickly got up and went in front of the horse with her arms spread out.

"Woah!" She shouted, hands up to ward the horse away, "Woah woah! Easy, boy, easy! Settle down!"

She kept herself between the horse and her friends. He weaved left and right and tried to get past her, "Easy, boy! Easy…"

The horse stopped moving, staring at Rapunzel or what was directly behind her. Toothless and Cielo, easily twice the horse's size, were looming over Rapunzel's shoulders and gave their best dragon stare. The horse stared at the dragons, and found he had no urge to try and get past the girl any more.

"That's it." Rapunzel praised him cheerfully while Pascal was on top of her head and gesturing the horse to stand down.

"Now sit!" She ordered.

The horse refused.

"Sit!" Rapunzel repeated, and this time, the horse obeyed. He folded his back legs and sat, looking not at all pleased at the situation.

"What?" Eugene exclaimed from the back, dropping on the ground near the tree.

"Now drop the boot!" Rapunzel ordered. The horse gave her an annoyed glare. "_Drop it_," she repeated warningly.

The horse gave another grunt of annoyance, but eventually gave in to Rapunzel's orders and dropped Eugene's boot on the ground.

"Aw," Rapunzel cooed, cupping the horse's face and rubbing his brow. "You're such a good boy!" She praised. "Ooh, yes you are!"

"Do I even _want_ to know what's going on?" Carlos asked.

"I'm sure that I want to either." Hiccup commented.

"Are you all tired from chasing the bad man all over the place?" Rapunzel pouted.

"Excuse me?" Eugene snapped, offended. Rapunzel chose to ignore him.

"Nobody appreciates you, do they?" She asked the horse, hugging him around the neck as far as she could reach. "_Do they_?" The horse shook his head and hugged her back to the best of his ability.

"Oh come on!" Eugene complained. "He's a bad horse!"

"Oh he's nothing but a big sweet heart," Rapunzel rolled her eyes as she scratched the horse under his chin, "Isn't t right?" She lowered her gaze and noticed a clasp on his saddle straps. The clasp was decorated with the star burst symbol of the kingdom, as well as the name "Maximus", written in shining gold letters. "Maximus," She repeated, the horse neighed happily in response.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me." Eugene huffed, crossing his arms and legs and pouted.

"Look," Rapunzel began, tilting her body around to hang upside down and look the horse in the eye, "Today is kind of the _biggest_ day of my life," She walked over to Eugene as the two boys helped him up, "And the thing is…I need you not to get him arrested."

The horse neighed in disapproval.

"Just for twenty-four hours and then you can chase each other to your heart's content, okay?" Rapunzel suggested.

She stepped back and grabbed Eugene's arm, pulling him next to her. The man brushed off his pants and turned to the horse with an expression clearly said 'I can't believe I'm doing this'. He held out his hand for a handshake.

Maximus the horse glared at the offered hand and turned his head away. Rapunzel bit her lip and leaned forward a little. "And it's . . . also my birthday . . . just so you know."

The horse huffed again, before he blew his lip and grunted, accepting the deal. He turned back to Eugene and held up one of his front hooves to shake.

A bell chimed in the distance. The sound echoed through the trees and no one really paid attention to it until they noticed Rapunzel's smile go slack. Her eyes were wide with wonder at the sound she'd never heard, slowly moving past Maximus and Eugene as she parted their hands and walked towards the trees. Maximus used this distraction to kick Eugene in the stomach which made him fall to the ground holding his stomach in pain. The boys and their dragons couldn't help but chuckle with the horse.

"Nice one, Maximus." Hiccup complimented, holding his fist out. Maximus returned the gesture but he bumped Hiccup's fist with his hoof.

* * *

_I learned to be with myself rather than avoiding myself with limiting habits; I started to be aware of my feelings more, rather than numb them. _— Judith Wright


	17. The Lantern Festival

Chapter 17: The Lantern Festival

A/N:

'**Dragons**' – Dragonese

* * *

Much to the dragons' dismay, they had to wait on the border line of the trees while Rapunzel, Eugene, Hiccup, Carlos, and Max entered the city. They could easily tell that she was very excited to finally be here. As they were walking, Eugene noticed another wanted poster of him and quickly grabbed and crumbled it. He turned to Max who was glaring at him and he shoved the crumbled paper into the horse's mouth. But then Max spit it out and spread out on Eugene's face. Max and the boys laughed at that. However that upset Eugene and he started to get into a fight with the horse. Then the two heard Pascal who was glaring at them, warning them to behave. The two separated and shoved each other with deadpan faces.

Up ahead, Rapunzel was gazing at everything that was going on as people walked by her. Then she kept bumping into people and tried to avoid getting hurt. Unfortunately she was tugged by her hair when someone had stepped on it and saw Eugene and the boys collecting it, trying to prevent it from getting caught onto something. Once they gathered all of her hair, the four of them tried to think of a way to keep her hair from getting stepped on. Then Eugene spotted four red hair girls braiding each other's hair at a fountain. That's when he got an idea. He whistled at them and gestured the pile of hair in their arms. The girls were shocked at the amount of hair and decided to braid her long hair.

Meanwhile, Eugene and the boys were watching Rapunzel getting her hair braided while trying to stay hidden from the guards who passed by. Then Eugene, Hiccup, Carlos, Pascal, and Max stared at Rapunzel whose hair was beautifully double braided with flowers and twirled around with a smile.

"Oooh, thank you." Rapunzel thanked the four little girls as she awed at her new hairstyle.

Eugene smiled at her awed expression. He had to admit that she looked beautiful with her hair like that. He turned and saw Max and the boys grinning and wiggling their eyebrows at him. He playful shoved Max's face away from him who neighed playful as well while Hiccup and Carlos chuckled. Throughout most of the afternoon, Rapunzel was gazing at each stand they came across as they walked. Soon enough, the gang got hungry and Eugene decided to get them something to eat. As they waited in line, Rapunzel and the boys spotted a tile art style mural of a man and woman holding a little girl in their arms. The man had short brown hair with a beard and blue eyes while the woman had long brown hair and green eyes. Both were wearing crowns which meant that they were the King and Queen of Corona. In the woman's arms, the baby girl had short blond hair and green eyes that appeared to be wearing some sort of crown. There were a few people standing in front of it. Vases of flowers were laid right near it. Then they spotted a woman sitting down with a little girl in her lap while another one, who looked to be the older one, was holding a flower in her hand.

"It's for the lost princess." The little girl said as she placed the flower near the mural.

The three looked back up at the mural. For some strange reason, the little girl looked familiar to them. Before they could question about it, Rapunzel heard music and spotted a small group of musicians and decided to follow them. By the time, Eugene got the food he spotted Rapunzel dancing to the music that the musicians were playing. Then she started making other people join the dance. The five watched Rapunzel twirl around with the people until she saw the group and gestured them to join. But Eugene shook his head which meant 'no way'. However Max pushed him into the crowd which he was grabbed by a woman to join him to a dance. So the remaining four chuckled at his expression and watched him dance. Then Max and Pascal gestured to Hiccup and Carlos to join. Figuring that Max would make them go anyway, they went into the crowd. As the afternoon went by, the group was having the time of their lives. Dancing, looking through books in small libraries, trying delicious treats, drawing pictures with chalk on the ground, buying some souvenirs, while trying to remain hidden from the guards. Right at the end of the day, the dance in the square was coming to a finish and Rapunzel was twirling until she ended in Eugene's arms, both out of breath.

"To the boats!" A man yelled as the two separated.

Later, Rapunzel and Eugene along with Pascal were in a boat heading into the water. He wanted Rapunzel to get the best seat to see the lanterns. As they were heading off, Eugene glanced at the saddened Max on the docks along with Hiccup and Carlos.

"Hey Max!" Eugene said as he grabbed a bag from the boat and threw over to the dock which bright red apples came out. Max stared and then frowned at Eugene. "What? I _bought_ them."

That relieved Max as he began eating the apples.

"_Most _of them." Eugene added with a smile which caused Max to halt in eating the apples.

"Don't worry, Max. No one else will find out." Hiccup assured the horse.

Max pondered for a moment and began eating the apples again.

* * *

Night had finally arrived. The lanterns were about to be released. Hiccup, Carlos, Max along with their dragons were getting excited about it. Luckily their dragons were able to come over without anyone seeing them since it was night out.

"I wonder how Rapunzel and Eugene are doing out there." Carlos pondered.

"Rapunzel's probably super excited." Hiccup replied.

"I can imagine. She's been thinking about this moment her entire life." Carlos commented.

"But there's something that's bugging me." Hiccup stated.

"What is it?" Carlos asked.

"What will Rapunzel do after she sees the lanterns?" Hiccup questioned.

"Don't know, maybe she'll find something new to see." Carlos answered.

"Maybe." Hiccup confirmed.

At that moment, a lantern had been released. Soon enough, there were thousands of them. The group on the docks couldn't help but awe at it. To them, it was absolutely beautiful, like the night sky became even brighter than ever before.

"Wow." Hiccup and Carlos awed.

"**Pretty**." The dragons awed as well.

Then the two lite their lanterns and let them join the others in the sky. Hiccup and Carlos couldn't help but feel lucky that they got to experience something like this.

"I have to admit that this is amazing." Hiccup commented.

"Yeah, somehow it reminds me of home." Carlos said, "But it's just as good as the ones back home."

"You know, we should come here next time we're around Corona." Hiccup suggested.

"I can agree to that." Carlos agreed.

"**Me too.**" Toothless crooned.

"**Me three.**" Cielo crooned.

"**Me four.**" Sharpshot warbled excitedly.

Max neighed excitedly as well which caused the group to chuckle at the possible hope of seeing another lantern festival. Soon enough, all of the lanterns went up in the sky and were out of sight. The group stayed at the docks and waited for Eugene and Rapunzel to return. Hiccup and Carlos couldn't help but feel like something was wrong.

"They should've been back by now." Carlos said.

"What could be taking them so long?" Hiccup questioned.

"**Why do I get the feeling that something isn't right?**" Toothless asked.

"So I guess we're not the only ones." Hiccup commented.

"Maybe we should go look for them." Carlos suggested.

The two were about to mount their dragons until they heard a male voice nearby.

"No! No! No! Wait, guys! Guys!"

The group went towards the voice and spotted Eugene being restrained by the castle guards.

"RAPUNZEL!" Eugene shouted before he was escorted roughly away from the docks.

The group turned towards the woods with shock and worry on their faces.

"We have to find her!" Carlos declared.

"But we don't know where she is! We'll get lost if we follow after her!" Hiccup reasoned.

"Okay, we'll wait until sunrise. But what about Eugene? How are we going to help him?" Carlos questioned.

"There's like a hundred guards in that castle. Not to mention that we don't know where the dungeon is. For assets, we have ourselves, three dragons, and a horse. Do you think we have a chance of getting him out?" Hiccup pointed out.

"Well, we'll need a plan in order to get him out." Carlos added.

Max neighed at the two boys.

"Do you have a plan, Max?" Hiccup asked.

Max neighed again and gestured the two to get on his back.

"Whatever you got for a plan, Max, we'll go with it." Carlos said as he and Hiccup mounted on Max's saddle.

"Let's go!" Hiccup ordered.

Then Max went off like a shot and went over the bridge, leaving the kingdom behind them with the dragons following them.

* * *

The group soon arrived at a familiar place: The Snuggly Duckling.

"What are we doing here, Max?" Hiccup asked as he and Carlos dismounted Max.

The three walked up to the door and knocked. The bald hooked guy appeared. He looked surprised to see them. Then he gestured them to come inside. Once they were, all of the other thugs were looking at them, wondering why they were here.

"We need your help. Flynn's in trouble." Carlos declared.

They decided not to tell that Flynn's real name was Eugene. They knew it would ruin his reputation, but maybe getting captured would also ruin it. The bald hooked guy looked at them and at the thugs. Then they nodded and stared back at Hiccup, Carlos, and Max.

"How can we help?" The bald hooked guy asked.

The trio smiled at that response.

* * *

_"If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes."_

– Andrew Carnegie


	18. Saving Eugene

Chapter 18: Saving Eugene

A/N:

'**Dragons**' – Dragonese

* * *

It was morning after the lantern festival. Eugene was pacing back and forth in his cell. He was worried about Rapunzel and hoped that she was okay along with Hiccup and Carlos. For some strange reason, he started to care about the group. After a short amount of time he spent with them, he grew attached to them. He had to admit the boys and their dragons were very interesting and great to be around. It never made any sense to why Hiccup's father would ignore his son just because he wasn't like everyone else. To his point of view, Hiccup was a gifted boy with a big heart. Carlos was also a nice boy to be around. Even though Carlos had lost his parents, he was still able to find happiness with his aunt and cousin along with Cielo. He sighed at the thought of them being hurt or captured; he really hoped that they were okay. He went towards the barred window and noticed the morning sun beginning to light everything outside. Suddenly he heard his cell door opened and the captain of the guards appeared.

"Let's get this over with, Rider." Captain declared.

"Where are we going?" Eugene asked, brow arched. The captain didn't answer, he just stared at Eugene with narrow eyes. That's when Eugene realized what he meant as he placed his hand around his neck, "Oh."

The guards came in and put his hands behind his back and placed shackles around his wrists. Then they both grabbed his arms and lead him out of his cell. Eugene didn't fight the guards as they guided him through the hall of cells. Then he glanced at the cells until he spotted two certain individuals. The Stabbingtons. He narrowed his eyes angrily at them and bashed the two guards away and jumped up over his chained wrists. He ran towards the Stabbingtons' cell and grabbed the front of one of the brothers's vest through the bars and pulled him towards him.

"How did you know about her?! Tell me now!" Eugene demanded angrily.

"It wasn't us! It was the old lady!" The brother admitted in a scared tone.

"Old lady?" Eugene questioned as he looked away and thought about who it was. Then his eyes widened when he realized. He was grabbed by the guards once more and pulled away from the brothers. He began to struggle as they pulled him away, "Wait! No! Wait! You don't understand! She's in terrible trouble! Wait!"

However the guards ignored him and continued to go down the halls towards the outside. Once they reached another hall with sun pouring in by a high window, Eugene spotted a small purple ceramic unicorn on an open square window. Wait a minute; he knew who that unicorn really belonged to. Suddenly all of the doors were slammed shut.

"What's this?" The captain asked and turned towards the door and started pounding on it, "Open up!"

The door's window slid opened and the drunken old man from the Snuggly Duckling appeared.

"What's the password?" He asked before shutting the slide.

"What?" The captain asked.

"Nope." Drunken old man said as he opened and shut the slide again.

"Open this door!" The captain ordered.

"Not even close!" Drunken old man stated as he opened and shut the slide once again.

"You have three seconds!" The captain warned.

As the captain counted down, the guards were taken from two other familiar thugs from the Snuggly Duckling. When the captain turned around, he saw Eugene all by himself. Suddenly, he was struck by the back of the head with a frying pan which was held by Attila (the guy who wears a helmet that covers his head and likes making cupcakes) and fell to the floor with a weird expression.

"Frying pans! Who knew, right?" Eugene asked, grinning.

Then they heard pounding on the door at the other end and another group of guards broke down the door. Hooked guy quickly broke off Eugene's chained wrists and headed in the other direction while Eugene and Attila went in the another. Unexpectedly Ulf appeared and held his hand up in front of him, which made the guards stop as Eugene and Attila went by him. He was miming that there was a wall between him and the guards, confusing them. Then he placed his hand above his eyes and looked to the right. The guards followed his sight and saw Vladimir roaring as he charged towards them. The guards let out a girlish scream before Vladimir rammed into them. Ulf turned around and mimed 'oh my gosh!'. When Eugene and the other thugs got out of the dungeon and entered the opened square of it, they saw _a lot_ of the castle guards coming towards them. Hooked guy quickly grabbed Eugene and placed him on a cart.

"Head down." Hook guy ordered as he gestured what he wanted Eugene to do.

"Head down!" Eugene obeyed.

"Arms in."

"Arms in!"

"Knees apart."

"Knees apart! Knees apart?" Eugene questioned with his left eyebrow arched.

Vladimir jumped off the balcony.

"Why do I have to keep my knees apart-" Eugene was interrupted when Vladimir landed on the other end of the cart, which sent Eugene flying in the air. The thugs watched him as he screamed in panic while going up. He soon landed on something in the stayed position that the hooked guy ordered.

"You can open your eyes now, Eugene."

Eugene opened his eyes and exhaled when he saw Hiccup and Carlos with their dragons. He heard a small nicker and noticed that he was sitting on Max's saddle.

"Max…you brought them here?" Eugene asked with disbelief.

Max smiled at him.

"Thank you." Eugene thanked.

Max made gesture of 'it was nothing'.

"No really." Eugene thanked with his hand over his heart, "_Thank you._"

Then Eugene looked away and back at Max, "I feel maybe this whole time, we've been misunderstanding one another and we're really just…"

Max stared at him with a deadpan expression.

"We should go." Hiccup declared.

"Yeah, you're right. We should go." Eugene nodded.

A door slammed opened in the watchtower that lead to the wall where the group was standing and a bunch of guards came out firing arrows at them. Toothless quickly fired a plasma blast at their feet. Eugene urged Max to go forward as they ran, he noticed another watchtower where more guards were coming towards them.

"Max?" Eugene asked as Max continued to head towards the corner of the wall, "Max! MAX!"

Eugene yelled in panic as Max jumped off the wall and landed on a roof while sliding down which made shingles come off as they went. Max soon landed on the ground, making the people gasp in disbelief and move out of the way as they ran.

"Okay, Max. Let's see how fast you can run." Eugene declared.

Max neighed once more and ran like the wind with the dragons following behind him. Max was running through the woods with the dragon riders above him. They soon arrived at a familiar destination: Rapunzel's tower.

"What are we doing here, Eugene?" Carlos asked.

"The old lady took Rapunzel here. I just know it," Eugene confirmed before he quickly dismounted Max and stood in front of the tower, "Rapunzel?"

Nobody answered.

"Rapunzel, let down your hair!" Eugene shouted.

When no one answered, Eugene began to climb the tower.

"Eugene, what are you doing?" Hiccup asked.

"I'm going to Rapunzel. She needs help." Eugene declared. Then they heard the windows open at the top of the tower. Soon enough, Rapunzel's extremely long hair came out the window and Eugene held onto it, "You guys stay here, I'll get Rapunzel."

"But what if you run into trouble?" Hiccup asked, worried.

"I'll whistle if I need ya'." Eugene stated and started climbing up Rapunzel's hair.

"I hope he'll be okay." Carlos prayed.

"I hope so too." Hiccup prayed when he saw Eugene go inside.

"**I'll go and check if you want**." Sharpshot offered.

"Please Sharpshot." Hiccup pleaded.

"**On it**." Sharpshot confirmed before he flew up and went inside.

When Sharpshot went inside, he came across a horrifying sight; Eugene was bleeding and Rapunzel was chained and muffled as Gothel was pulling her towards the hidden stairway. Angry to the woman who hurt his friends, he charged towards her and clamped onto her sleeve and tugged on it. While gripping on the chains with her right hand, she grabbed the dragon with her left and ripped him off her shoulder and kicked Pascal off her dress. The two reptiles both hit the wall and fell to the floor. They tried to get up, but the hit left them sort of dazed.

"Rapunzel, really!" Gothel said as Rapunzel continued to tug from Gothel's grip on the chains, "Enough already! Stop fighting me!"

Then Rapunzel pushed herself away and fell to the floor, the clothed that kept her muffled fell off.

"No!" Rapunzel protested, "I won't stop! For every minute for the rest of my life, I will fight! I will _never _stop trying to get away from you! But...if you let me save him, I will go with you."

"No! No, Rapunzel." Eugene grunted weakly as he held his hand to his wound.

"I'll never run. I'll never try to escape. Just let me heal him and you and I will be together, forever, just like you want. Everything will be the way it was. I promise," Rapunzel promised. The two reptiles stood there in shock. They couldn't believe that Rapunzel was sacrificing her freedom in order to save Eugene. The two knew that they won't be able to save him with a wound that heavy. Gothel was staring at Rapunzel, deciding whether she should let Rapunzel heal the man or not.

"Just like you want," Rapunzel begged, "Just let me heal him."

Another five minutes later, Gothel wrapped the chain around the newel post of the stairway and put the shackle on his right wrist as he laid against it.

"In case you get any ideas about following us." Gothel warned, tightly holding his wrist. Then she dropped his wrist and stepped away while he began coughing in pain.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel panicked as she ran and knelt to his side and held his head and pushing his hair back.

Eugene began coughing and groaned in pain even more as he held his hands over his wound. Rapunzel spotted the blood spot on the lower part of his vest and gently peeked to see a bigger spot. She gasped at the sight of it. She knew that she had to heal Eugene immediately.

"I'm so sorry. Everything is going be okay, though." Rapunzel stated as she gathered some of her hair and was about to place it on Eugene's wound. However, Eugene pushed it back.

"No, Rapunzel." Eugene protested.

"I promise. You have to trust me," Rapunzel begged as she tried to put her hair on Eugene, but he kept refusing, "Come on. Just breathe."

"I can't let you do this." Eugene winced in pain.

"And I can't let you die." Rapunzel confessed softly.

"But if you do," Eugene winced again as Rapunzel placed her hand on his cheek, "Then you will die."

"Hey, it's going to be alright." Rapunzel assured him before she was about to sing.

"Rapunzel, wait." Eugene interrupted her as he brushed her hair back.

Eugene, weakly, pushed himself and leaned towards Rapunzel as she leaned down to his lips. Unexpectedly, he grabbed the back of her hair and cut it off with a sharp edge of a broken mirror piece. His hand fell to the floor as the mirror piece slid out of his hand and clattered onto the floor.

"Eugene..." Rapunzel gasped with wide eyes as she touched her now short blond hair which instantly turned brown.

"No!" Gothel shrieked as Rapunzel held the cut off end of her blond locks that rapidly began to turn brown. Gothel quickly gather the hair that was still blond but it prove useless when all of the hair quickly became brown.

"What have you done? What have you done?!" Gothel shrieked in anger as she held her hand as liver spots appeared, her skin became pale and wrinkled, and her hair turned white. She threw the hair to ground and went over to the broken mirror and saw her reflection; she was an ugly old woman! She grabbed onto her hood and covered her face as she sobbed angrily while walking backwards, not noticing that she was right near the window. At that moment, Sharpshot and Pascal grabbed the long thick brown hair and pulled it behind Gothel which caused her to fall out the window and scream as she fell.

Down below the tower, the boys heard the scream and saw the cloaked figure. Toothless quickly flew up to catch the figure, but when he grabbed onto it, a big pile of dust poured out. He flew back down and handed the cloak to Hiccup.

"Where did she go?" Hiccup questioned.

Toothless and Cielo sniffed the cloak and growled.

"**That dust was the remains of that woman**." Toothless confirmed.

"So she was using Rapunzel to keep herself young." Hiccup concluded before his eyes widened, "Wait a minute, Rapunzel!"

"Eugene!" Carlos exclaimed.

The two boys quickly got onto their dragons and flew up to the tower. Toothless tucked his wings in before entering the room with Cielo did the same thing before entering the room. What they saw made them froze; Rapunzel had short brown hair and her remaining locks were brown as well. But what worse of who was laying next to Rapunzel; Eugene who was wounded and wasn't moving. Rapunzel gasped as she turned to Eugene and carefully held the back of his head as the boys quickly knelt to Eugene's side.

"No, no, no. Eugene." Rapunzel panicked as she placed her hand on his right cheek.

Eugene coughed weakly. Rapunzel panicked even more.

"No! Look at me. I'm right here. Don't go. Stay with me, Eugene." She begged as she quickly grabbed Eugene's shackled wrist and placed his hand on her head. Then she desperately began to sing.

"_Flower, gleam and glow._

_Let your power shine._

_Make the clock reverse. _

_Bring back what once was mine._"

"Rapunzel." Eugene said.

"What?" Rapunzel asked softly.

"You were my new dream." Eugene said softly with half lid eyes. Rapunzel chuckled sadly.

"And you were mine." Rapunzel declared.

No later than five seconds, Eugene's eyes closed and his breathing stopped, Eugene was gone. The remaining group stared at the motionless Eugene. The boys looked down at the floor with sadness in their eyes while the dragons crooned sadly at their fallen friend. During their short time together, they somehow got along and started to care for one another. But they didn't want this to happen to their friend.

"Why… did he cut my hair?" Rapunzel croaked as she held Eugene's wrist.

"He did it in order to save you, Rapunzel." Carlos stated.

"He knew that if you saved him, you would leave and be forced to keep that woman young forever." Hiccup reasoned.

"**I wish this didn't happen**." Sharpshot said as he perched on Hiccup's shoulder and gazed at Eugene with grief.

"Me too. Sharpshot. Me too." Hiccup said as Toothless came to his side while Cielo sat by Carlos.

Rapunzel gently placed Eugene's wrist down and caressed his cheek and placed her hand over his heart and began to sing softly.

"_Heal what has been hurt,_

_Change the Fates' design,_

_Save what has been lost,_

_Bring back what once was mine."_

Rapunzel placed her forehead against Eugene's as tears began to form in the corner of her eyes, "_What once was mine_."

A tear fell from her eyes and landed on Eugene's cheek as she began to sob. The boys and dragons had tears falling from their eyes as well. At that moment, Rapunzel and the others spotted golden colored lights streaming out of Eugene's wounds and spread out all over the room, an outline of a flower appeared over the wound. Soon enough, the lights died down. Rapunzel noticed that the blood was gone on Eugene's wound. Then Eugene slowly began opening his eyes.

"Rapunzel?" Eugene exhaled.

"Eugene?" Rapunzel gasped.

"Did I ever tell you I got a thing for brunettes?" He teased with a small smile. Rapunzel laughed and wrapped her arms around Eugene's neck who wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel exclaimed happily.

Rapunzel laughed as Eugene held her close. Then the two separated and stared lovingly at each other. Rapunzel pulled the front of Eugene's vest and pushed her lips onto his, which shocked Eugene for a second and then he returned the kiss. After a moment or two, they separated once more and the boys tackled them into a hug.

"Thank goodness you're okay!" Hiccup said with tears in the corner of his eyes.

"We thought we lost you!" Carlos croaked.

Eugene chuckled as he wrapped his arms around them. Toothless came over and licked Eugene's face, soon enough Cielo and Sharpshot did as well. Even though he was disgusted by it. He decided to let it go. Just this once.

* * *

"_Sometimes in life, you do things you don't want to. Sometimes you sacrifice, sometimes you compromise. Sometimes you let go and sometimes you fight. It's all about deciding what's worth losing and what's worth keeping." - _Lindy Zart


	19. The Lost Princess Returns

Chapter 19: The Lost Princess Returns

A/N:

'**Dragons**' – Dragonese

* * *

Once the group was relieved that Eugene was alive. Rapunzel declared that she should head to the castle, where her parents are. They were first puzzled why and she told them that she was the lost princess.

"I think she's right." Hiccup stated.

"What do you mean?" Eugene asked.

"Back at the festival, we saw a mural of the King and Queen holding a baby in their arms. The baby had the exact features as Rapunzel." Hiccup explained.

"That would make sense." Carlos commented.

"So that woman took you as a baby and kept you hidden from the world so that no one would discover you." Eugene agreed.

"Yeah," Rapunzel added, "I just wish that I noticed it sooner."

"Don't blame yourself, Rapunzel. You didn't know that she wasn't your real mother." Hiccup assured her as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"But she's gone now and she won't ever lock you away again." Carlos added.

"Yeah, you're right." Rapunzel confirmed.

The rest of the group nodded at that.

"Well then, we should probably get going." Carlos declared.

The boys got onto their dragons and headed to the window. Toothless came up first and stopped. Hiccup looked over his shoulder and gazed at Rapunzel.

"You wanna ride a dragon?" Hiccup asked.

Rapunzel pondered at that. She wondered what it would be like to ride a dragon. Seeing how at ease Hiccup and Carlos were with their dragons. She smiled and walked over to Toothless. Hiccup helped her onto the saddle as Pascal climbed onto her shoulder.

"Just hold onto me, okay?" Hiccup requested.

"Okay." Rapunzel obeyed as she wrapped her arms around Hiccup's waist and shut her eyes tight.

"Let's go, Toothless." Hiccup said, patting his neck.

"**Alright then**." Toothless said.

Soon enough Toothless leaped from the window and flew above the ground. Max was looking up at them with wonder. A minute later, Sharpshot came out along with Cielo with Carlos and Eugene on his back.

"Eugene, could you loosen your grip, please?" Carlos pleaded.

"Sorry. Just not use to riding a dragon." Eugene stated with his eyes shut.

"Max, do you want to race us back to the castle?" Hiccup asked as he looked over Toothless's left side and gazed down at Max who neighed excitedly at the thought.

"What if they don't recognize me?" Rapunzel asked, nervously.

"What?" Carlos asked.

"I've been gone for eighteen years. How will they recognize me?" Rapunzel questioned herself.

Hiccup felt that way when he first met his mother. At that time, he didn't know how his mother would recognize if he didn't have his scar.

"Rapunzel, do you want to know what my mother said to me when I asked her how she knew I was her son." Hiccup suggested.

"What?" Rapunzel asked.

"A mother never forgets." Hiccup answered, "A mother would never forget her child."

"He's right, Rapunzel." Carlos agreed.

"They've been waiting for you to come after eighteen years, Rapunzel," Eugene stated, "I'm sure that they'll recognize you right away."

"You sure?" Rapunzel asked.

"I'm sure." Eugene confirmed with a smile.

Rapunzel smiled in return.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Carlos asked with a smile.

"Let's bring you back to your parents, your _real _parents." Hiccup smiled.

Rapunzel nodded and then Hiccup directed Toothless towards the city of Corona with Cielo and his passengers and Max following after him.

* * *

At the castle of Corona, the King and Queen were in their private quarters where they could watch from the windows and looked upon the town outside. Suddenly the doors opened, the King and Queen saw a guard who looked to be almost out of breath. He nodded with wide eyes and the two rulers stood up at that. A few minutes later, the two were running down the hall that led to the door of the balcony. Once they reached the door, they glanced at each other, hoping that the guard was right. They opened the door and spotted a girl with short brown hair wearing a light purple dress. A man and two boys stood beside her. The girl hesitantly walked forward as the queen did. They were only a few steps away from each other, the queen stretched her hand out and placed on the girl's cheek. The queen recognized this girl. It was her daughter! The daughter she and her husband have waited many years for! She smiled at the girl who returned it as well. Then she pulled the girl into arms and hugged her who hugged her in return. Rapunzel looked over her mother's shoulder and saw her father who was smiling at her with tears in the corner of his eyes. He soon wrapped his arms around his wife and long lost daughter and the three sat down on their knees.

Eugene, Hiccup, and Carlos were happy for Rapunzel. She was finally reunited with her parents who had been waiting for her for eighteen years. They smiled as they gazed at the happy family in front of them. The king and queen caught their gazing and held their hands out to them. Unexpectedly, the three were pulled into the hug.

* * *

About two days later, there was a celebration for the return of the Lost Princess's return. The kingdom was rejoiced. During that time, Hiccup and Carlos introduced their dragons to the people of Corona. Some of the adults were scared, but all it took to change their minds was a brave little girl who happened to be one of the little red heads who braided Rapunzel's hair at the Lantern Festival. Let's just say that Toothless, Cielo, and Sharpshot were loving the attention they were getting from the other children. The King and Queen were getting use to them. Somehow Toothless melted their hearts with his big dilated eyes. Some of the adults were starting to get use to them.

On a side note, the thugs from the Snuggly Duckling made their dreams come true. The bald hooked guy became the most famous concert pianist. The big nosed thug was able to find true love. Ulf the mime thug was really into pursue his dream of being a mime. Also, thanks to Maximus crime had disappeared almost overnight; and most of the apples. During the party, everyone had released numerous amount of floating lanterns which brightened the mid afternoon sky.

It was a celebration that no one would forget for many years to come.

* * *

_Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present and future. We make discoveries about ourselves. _** \- **Gail Lumet Buckley


	20. Onward

Chapter 20: Onward

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

Today was the day that the dragon riders would leave Corona and head towards Scotland. Like in Avalor, they would miss the new friends they made here; Rapunzel, Eugene, Pascal, Maximus, the rulers of Corona, and the thugs from the Snuggly Duckling.

"We're going to miss you guys." Rapunzel said.

"Us too." Carlos said.

"So where are you guys going next?" Eugene asked.

"Scotland. There might be another chance at finding Cielo's mother." Hiccup explained.

Two days after the celebration of Rapunzel's return, the dragon riders looked all over the woods for Cielo's mother. They even asked the King and Queen if anyone had seen anything. Nothing. It broke Cielo's heart. But Carlos assured him that they'll find his mother.

"Well, I hope you find her." Eugene encouraged.

"I know we will." Carlos said.

Rapunzel walked to the two boys and wrapped them in a hug.

"Thank you for helping me find my family." Rapunzel thanked the group in front of her.

The two boys wrapped their arms around the girl. They were glad to help the girl with finding her family. She was able to achieve her dream of seeing the floating lanterns and soon discovered that she was the lost princess of Corona. Throughout her journey of achieving her dream, she met many friends, survived the flooded cave, and triumphed over the control of Mother Gothel.

Rapunzel let go of the boys and stared at them with a sad smile which they returned the gesture. Toothless crooned sadly as Rapunzel wrapped her arms around his neck as Eugene placed his hand on his head.

"I'm going to miss you too, Lizard breath." Eugene said as he lightly rubbed his head.

Even though Toothless would be offended at the name, but he knew that there was some affection in it. He'll let it go, just this once. Cielo warbled as he nudged Eugene's shoulder and he turned to Cielo. He smiled at the dragon and scratched under his chin.

"You too." Eugene said with a sad smile.

"**We'll miss you as well.**" Cielo warbled sadly.

Sharpshot perched on Rapunzel's shoulder and nudged his cheek against hers. Rapunzel let go of Toothless and petted Sharpshot's head as he warbled sadly. Then she stopped and Sharpshot slowly flew over to Hiccup's shoulder. The two riders mounted their dragons and gazed sadly at the group in front of them.

"You better come back here to visit." Hook guy declared.

"We will." Hiccup promised.

The dragon riders jumped off the ground and flew into the air, leaving their new friends behind them as they went off to their next destination. Eugene wrapped his left arm around Rapunzel and rubbed her arm.

"They'll be back." Eugene declared.

"I know." Rapunzel said as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

* * *

Two and a half days later, they arrived onto another land around mid afternoon. From what Hiccup could guess they were in Scotland.

"So this is Scotland?" Carlos asked as they flew over the wooded area.

"It appears so." Hiccup answered.

"**This land has more trees than Corona**." Toothless commented.

"**I'll say**." Sharpshot added.

"**Do you think my mother is here?**" Cielo asked.

"Maybe." Hiccup replied.

They continued to fly over the land, gazing at the trees that soon lead them to the mountains. Once they were over the mountains, they spotted a castle in the distance. The castle looked to be made of stone and it was overlooking a lake. From what he could see, people were living there. To be on the safe side, Hiccup suggested that they should land somewhere where people wouldn't freak out if they saw their dragons. They turned the other way and headed towards a safe spot. Then Hiccup spotted it.

"Let's land over there." Hiccup pointed to the spot where they saw tall vertical stones standing in a circle.

The two dragons landed softly on the ground outside of the circle. They gently took off their bags from their saddles and laid them near a boulder. The group became intrigued by the stone circle. They walked around it and noticed that one of the stones had fallen over. Hiccup pondered how it could've fallen over.

"I have to admit that this is kinda cool." Carlos admitted.

"I agree with you there, Carlos." Hiccup agreed.

"**It looks weird to me.**" Toothless commented.

"**Indeed**." Cielo added.

"**What's so special about a circle of stones?**" Sharpshot asked.

"Hey, who are you?" A female voice asked.

The group turned around and saw a girl around their age with long, wild, curly fiery red hair and ocean blue eyes. She wore a dark blue overdress that has slit sleeves that revealed a gathered cream colored under dress at her shoulders and elbows. The under dress was also visible at the bottom of the sleeves and around the neckline. Her arrow was aimed at the two boys.

"Uh, hi?" Hiccup greeted, nervously.

* * *

_Aim for the sky, but move slowly, enjoying every step along the way. It is all those little steps that make the journey complete._

\- Chanda Kochhar


	21. DunBroch

Chapter 21: DunBroch

A/N:

*Just wanted to let you know that Merida is _not_ Hiccup's love interest*

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

"Answer my question," The girl demanded while aiming her arrow at the two boys, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"We're travelers." Hiccup answered with his hands up.

"We were just taking a break." Carlos added, copying Hiccup's gesture.

The three dragons growled at the girl. The girl stepped back in shock of the creatures who jumped in front of their riders.

"Are those...dragons?" The girl asked with wide eyes, lowering her bow.

"Yeah-Yeah, they are." Hiccup stuttered.

"I thought they were just fairy tales." The girl said.

"Well, they aren't." Carlos commented.

"By the way, who are you?" Hiccup asked.

The girl was clearly decided on whether she should tell them her name or not.

"Merida." 'Merida' answered.

"I'm Hiccup." Hiccup greeted.

"Carlos." Carlos greeted.

"This is Toothless and Sharpshot." Hiccup introduced his Night Fury and Terrible Terror.

"Cielo." Carlos introduced his Stormcutter.

"**Hi.**" The three dragons crooned at the mention of their names.

But the three were still suspicious of Merida since she was still armed with her bow and arrow. Hiccup easily noticed that the three were weary of the girl and that she was suspected the same thing as well. He quickly thought of an idea. It was the same idea he used with Rapunzel. He just hoped that Merida will listen to him and hopefully trust him on it.

"There is a way to help gain our dragons' trust, Merida." Hiccup stated.

"How?" Merida asked.

"You're not really going to like it." Hiccup pointed out.

"So what do I have to do?" Merida asked.

"Toss your weapon aside." Hiccup answered.

"WHAT?!" Merida shrieked with wide eyes.

"They think of you as a threat with your bow and arrow. If you toss it aside, they'll no longer see you as such. In return, they won't attack." Hiccup explained.

Merida was staring at the two boys with suspicion. It's true that with her bow and arrow that she would look like a threat. But with the three dragons in front of her, she didn't want them to attack her. Taking a chance, she withdrew her arrow and threw it to the side along with her bow. The three dragons stared at her and glanced at the weapon she tossed aside. They sat down and their eyes dilated. To Merida's point of view, they looked… kinda cute.

"Thank you." Hiccup thanked Merida.

The five relaxed once Merida tossed her weapon aside.

"Can you slowly walk over to us, Merida?" Hiccup requested.

"Why?" Merida asked, brow arched.

"I want to help you receive our dragons' trust. Will you let us?" Hiccup asked.

Merida glanced at the five once more. Even though this was her first time encountering dragons, she wanted to gain their trust. But she considered what they might do once she gained their trust as well as hers. Taking another chance on the group, she slowly walked up to them as Hiccup walked around Toothless and met her half way. He held his right hand out to her and she looked up at his hand and then at him. Hiccup smiled at her and she placed her left hand in his and led her over to Toothless. She stiffened as Toothless stared at her with his big acidic green eyes as they dilated. Somehow, he reminded her how a dog would act if he wanted attention from his owner. Hiccup gently took her right hand and placed it right above Toothless's snout.

"Now close your eyes and turn your head away," Hiccup instructed. Merida arched her right eyebrow at this, "Let him take the first step."

Hiccup took a step away from her side. Merida stared at Toothless and then she closed her eyes and turned away as she held her open palm out. Then she felt something warm and scaly underneath her hand. She opened her eyes and turned to Toothless to see him pressing his snout against her hand. She gently rubbed his head which caused him to purr. Merida couldn't help but smile at his purring.

"He's not so bad, huh?" Hiccup asked.

"Ie, he's quite a cutie." Merida complimented.

"**I like her.**" Toothless commented, enjoying Merida's touch.

Sharpshot flew over to Merida's shoulder and nuzzled against her cheek while Cielo nuzzled her shoulder. Merida chuckled at their need of attention from her. She never knew that dragons would act so adorable. They were very different from the tales she had learned about when she was a little girl.

"Well, it looks like you gained their trust, Merida." Hiccup pointed out, crossing his arms in front of his chest while smiling.

"I guess so," Merida agreed, "So what are you doing in Scotland?"

"We just left the kingdom of Corona. We're really here to find Cielo's mother." Carlos said.

Cielo warbled sadly at the mention of his mother as he stared at the ground.

"His mother?" Merida asked when she saw Cielo's head hung down in sadness.

"Cielo got separated from his mother during a storm and ended up in Avalor where I took care of him." Carlos explained.

"Yeah, we hope to find some sort of clue that she might be here." Hiccup stated.

"What if she isn't?" Merida asked.

"We go and search for her further onto the next land." Carlos confirmed.

Merida could clearly see that Carlos was very worried about Cielo's mother and was determined to find her. She couldn't help but feel sorry for Cielo. Losing a mother and trying to find her in such a long search. She remembered how she almost lost her own mother nearly a year ago.

"Well, I hope you find her." Merida said with a soft smile.

"Thank you." Carlos said with a soft smile.

"But where are you going to stay while you search?" Merida questioned.

"We'll camp for now." Hiccup declared.

"Are you really going to stay out here?" Merida asked with her arms spread out indicating the woods all around them.

"Well, we kinda have to since it's possible that the people here would run in panic if they saw our dragons." Carlos reasoned with a shrug.

"Good point." Merida understood, tapping her chin.

She knew that the boys could stay at a tavern in the village, but their dragons would get worried or it would be possible that someone might spot the three dragons and notify her parents. She didn't want to do that to them. Then someone's stomach growled. Everyone turned Toothless who was giving off a look of innocence.

"**Sorry.**" Toothless apologized.

"It's okay, Toothless. I guess we should get something to eat," Hiccup suggested, "Merida, do you know any rivers that have a lot of fish?"

"Why yes I do." Merida said as she walked over to pick up her bow and put her arrow back in its quiver, "Follow me."

* * *

Merida lead the group to a nearby river where they were able to catch enough fish for themselves and the dragons. Merida collected the wood when the boys were fishing and so she set up the fire for them when they chose a campsite near the river. The three humans placed their fish on a stick while they gave the rest to their dragons.

"By the way, where are you two from?" Merida asked.

She was curious about the two. It made her wonder where they were from.

"I'm from Avalor." Carlos replied.

"I'm from the island of Berk." Hiccup answered.

"Berk? Isn't that Viking territory?" Merida questioned.

The mention of "Berk" reminded her of all the geography lessons with her mom. She remembered being told that it was Viking territory and her people had been at war with them before. So the Vikings moved somewhere away from Scotland.

"Yeah… it is." Hiccup admitted.

"So you're a Viking?!" Merida exclaimed in shock.

"To others, yes. To me, no." Hiccup stated.

"What do you mean by that?" Merida questioned.

"According to Viking standards, I'm just a runt of the litter and too scrawny to be a Viking." Hiccup explained, "I know that I'm not a Viking since I don't kill dragons like the others."

"You kill dragons? Why?" Merida asked.

"Where I come from, they steal livestock and destroy our houses." Hiccup replied.

"Luckily Hiccup found out why they were stealing food." Carlos commented.

"What do you mean?" Merida asked.

"They were stealing food in order to feed their queen, Red Death." Hiccup answered.

Hiccup explained who Red Death was and why the dragons had to obey. Merida glanced at Toothless, Cielo, and Sharpshot. She felt sympathy towards the creatures. They were forced to steal in order to survive and protect their young ones.

"Fish done." Carlos said, interrupting her thoughts.

The three humans ate their fish in quiet. The three all had different thoughts at the moment. For Merida, she was surprised that these two were able to ride dragons and journeying a long way from home. Carlos, he was extremely worried on finding Cielo's mother. He hoped that she wasn't captured or possibly dead. If she was, Carlos wouldn't be able to live with himself for failing to find her. Hiccup, he wondered what they'll find here in Scotland.

"By the way, Carlos, what's Avalor like?" Merida asked, changing the subject.

"Well I have a lot to tell you." Carlos replied.

Carlos told the amazing culture of the city he grew up in and how he met Cielo along with Hiccup and his dragon companions. He also told the story of Shuriki, Princess Elena being trapped in a magical amulet, Alacazar the royal wizard, Princess Sophia and her mission, helping the young princess free Elena, defeating Shuriki, going against Noblins, and Elena becoming Crowned Princess.

"Wow, that's quite an adventure." Merida commented.

"You have no idea." Carlos stated.

"What about you, Hiccup?" Merida asked.

"You won't like it." Hiccup objected.

"Too late, I'm already interested in wanting to know." Merida persisted.

Hiccup had a feeling that she won't give up until she gets to hear. He always wondered why girls would be so persist on hearing his story. That's one question that won't be answered. He rolled his eyes as he sighed heavily at this.

"Fine." Hiccup reluctantly agreed.

He told her of his old life on Berk; how the villagers hated him, his father ignoring him, the other teens bullying him, Gobber treating him like a son, dragon training, and how he befriended Toothless; he sugar coated about his lost left tail fin. Then he went on why he decided to leave Berk, who was behind the war between the dragons and the Vikings, defeating Red Death, reuniting with his mother, and going off to explore. The only thing he left out was that he lost his left leg in the battle. He knew that if he told her that he lost it and a certain princess used her magic hair to restore his leg and Toothless's left tail fin, she might think he's crazy.

"I'm sorry, Hiccup." Merida apologized.

"It's fine. I got used to it." Hiccup assured.

Merida felt pity towards Hiccup. He was treated horribly ever since he was born. She now had to think of a different subject right now.

"What will you do once you find Cielo's mother?" Merida questioned.

"Not sure. We might still go exploring. See what else is out there." Hiccup explained.

"It'll be interesting. That's for sure." Carlos commented.

"I couldn't agree with you more, Carlos." Hiccup added.

Once they finished their fish, Merida noticed how late it was getting and told the boys that she had to leave. The boys were curious to why she had to. Merida simply said that her parents had told her when she should be home. They understood and she promised that she would come by tomorrow.

* * *

The next day, the three humans and the dragons were sunbathing out in a clearing. The boys told Merida their adventure back in Corona. She laughed at the parts when they told her when Rapunzel kept having second thoughts on going to see the floating lanterns. She was very intrigued when Hiccup mentioned how Rapunzel's hair had restored his missing limb and Toothless's missing tail fin.

"Why didn't you mention that earlier?" Merida asked.

"It was another story. So I decided to tell you the next time we saw you." Hiccup said, "I also thought that you wouldn't believe me."

"Good point." Merida agreed, tapping her chin.

Suddenly, a group of armed men appeared in the clearing and surrounded the group. Hiccup and Carlos told their dragons to fly away. But they wouldn't abandon their riders. Unexpectedly, Merida pushed through the armed men and stood in front of them.

"Milady, get away from those strangers and their beasts." One of the men ordered, pointing his sword at the group behind Merida.

"These boys and their dragons will not be harmed!" Merida shouted with her arms spread out.

"They are dangerous! They have dragons!" Another man yelled.

"They shouldn't be trusted!" Another man shouted.

"It would be better if we kill them!" Another suggested.

The two dragons growled at what the armed men had suggested.

"As the princess of DunBroch, I demand that you release your weapons!" Merida ordered.

The boys and their dragons froze at Merida's words. They slowly turned towards her.

"YOU'RE THE PRINCESS?!/**YOU'RE THE PRINCESS?!**" The boys and dragons exclaimed in shock with wide eyes.

They didn't expect Merida to be the princess of DunBroch! Oh Thor, what have they gotten themselves into?

* * *

_Sometimes we let life guide us, and other times we take life by the horns. But one thing is for sure: no matter how organized we are, or how well we plan, we can always expect the unexpected. _\- Brandon Jenner


	22. The Bear King

Chapter 22: The Bear King

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

This was a crazy start of the second day with their new friend, Merida. _Princess_ Merida to be most precise. They never suspected that she was the princess. Well, she didn't seem to act like one at all.

"They are my friends and no harm will come to them." Merida ordered.

The guards around hesitated before they all sheathed their weapons. The group behind them sighed in relief. Then Merida turned towards the boys and the dragons.

"Sorry for not telling you that I'm a princess." Merida apologized.

"It's okay. But maybe a little warning would do." Hiccup suggested.

"Will do." Merida agreed.

"So now what?" Carlos asked.

Merida began to ponder as she tapped her chin until she snapped her fingers.

"I got it," Merida confirmed as the boys and dragons stared at her, "We can introduce you to my family and show them that you're not a threat." Merida suggested.

"Princess?!" The guards exclaimed in shock.

"Your majesty, are you out of your mind?!" A guard exclaimed.

"Dragons are not to be trusted!" Another guard protested.

"ENOUGH!" Merida angrily yelled as she turned to them.

The guards were silent at Merida's loud order.

"They will be coming with me to the castle. No protests and no aiming your weapons at them," Merida ordered, "Is that understood?"

"Yes, your majesty." The guards said in unison.

Merida let out a sigh of relief and turned to the boys and the dragons.

"Well then, let's introduce you to my family." Merida said as she lead the group along with the guards out of the clearing.

* * *

Even though they could've flown to the castle, Merida suggested that they should walk back since the guards would probably say that she was kidnapped by their dragons or something worse might happen. The boys could easily tell the guards were very uncomfortable around them. The walk to the castle continued to be a quiet one until Merida spoke up.

"Don't worry, my parents are very reasonable." Merida assured the group.

"If you're certain, Merida." Carlos said.

"By the way, what are your parents names?" Hiccup asked.

"My father is King Fergus also known as the Bear King and my mother is Queen Elinor. Also my three little brothers are Harris, Hubert, and Hamish." Merida replied.

"Bear King?" Carlos asked, brow arched.

"Oh aye. King Fergus is famous for his battle with the demon bear Mor'du," she said with a smile.

"Sounds like quite a story." Hiccup commented.

So Merida told them the story of how her father lost his leg when she was a child. Then she explained who Mor'du was and the history behind him. The boys and their dragons were very fascinated with the story. By the time she was finished, they were at the gates of the castle. The gates opened and the group entered the courtyard of the castle. When they entered, they saw some of the castle staff who were staring at the boys and the dragons with fear and some curiosity.

"Guards, stay here. I'll lead them to the throne room." Merida ordered.

"But you majesty-" The guard protested.

"I said stay here. I'll take it from here." Merida ordered more forcefully.

The guards reluctantly stayed in the courtyard as Merida lead the group into the castle. The group was nervous about meeting the King and Queen. Even though they met royalty twice during their journey, they wondered what the bear king was like. Based on Merida's description of her father, Hiccup believed that he might be as huge as his father. As they were walking, a maid came across them and she looked ready to faint until Merida turned her attention towards her.

"Maudie, could you fetch my parents and the boys and tell them to meet us in the throne room?" Merida requested.

The maid nervously nodded her head and quickly walked away from them.

"She's scared of our dragons isn't she?" Hiccup asked.

"I'm afraid so." Merida answered, "But don't worry, we'll be able to change their minds about them."

"Thank you, Merida." Hiccup stated.

"You're welcome." Merida said.

Soon enough, Maudie came back and told Merida and the group that Merida's family was in the throne room waiting for them. They followed Maudie and stood in front of a large pair of wooden doors which had a guard on both sides. Merida stood in front of it with the boys and the dragons behind her. The guards opened the doors and the group was able to see the inside of the throne room as they walked in and stood in front of four wooden thrones where the King and Queen sat along with another that three little curled red haired boys sitting in it together.

"This is my father, King Fergus." Merida introduced.

King Fergus was very tall, slightly overweight, and very muscular with fair skin. He had curly red hair, thick eyebrows, mustache and beard with blue eyes. He was wearing brown armor, long green gray and red tartan robe, which Hiccup and Carlos identified as a 'kilt', a silver helmet on his head, large brown belt around his waist, brown leather sporran, bear-fur cloak attached by a chain near his neck, and a brown wooden peg leg.

"My mother, Queen Elinor." Merida introduced.

Queen Elinor was a slender woman and who looked to be taller than Merida. She had brown eyes and very long brown hair, extending nearly to her feet in length which was arranged in two pigtails, fastened with gold ribbons that are wrapped around all the way to the bottom. A gray streak ran through the right side of her hair. She wore an embroidered emerald green dress with a dark green underdress accessorized with a gold belt and gold rings. On her head she wore a golden tiara adorned with a large piece of jade.

"And my little brothers, Harris, Hubert, and Hamish." Merida introduced.

The triplets all had their father's curly red hair and blue eyes. They all wore the same clothing, minus the bear fur cape and crown, like their father. It was like the group was looking at the miniature version of King Fergus.

The five royals were staring at the boys and their dragons with curiosity, suspicion and a bit of fear as well.

"Everyone, these are my friends." Merida started.

"I'm Hiccup and this is Toothless and Sharpshot." Hiccup greeted while gesturing his Night Fury and Terrible Terror.

"I'm Carlos and this is Cielo." Carlos greeted and gestured his Stormcutter.

"I assume that you're travelers, correct?" Elinor questioned.

"Yes, your majesty." Hiccup answered.

"From what I remember, dragons mostly inhabit the Barbaric Archipelago." Elinor informed, "So I presume that you two are Vikings."

"I am, but Carlos is from the Kingdom of Avalor." Hiccup answered.

"I see." Elinor stated.

"You look too scrawny to be a Viking." Fergus admitted, rubbing his chin.

"Fergus." Elinor warned.

"_What?_" Fergus asked, shrugged with his arms out.

"It's okay. I get that a lot." Hiccup stated, shrugged.

"Really?" Fergus asked.

"Yeah." Hiccup answered.

"But what are you doing here in DunBroch?" Fergus asked.

"We're looking for Cielo's mother." Carlos replied.

"His mother?" Elinor asked.

"Yes, the two were separated in a storm and Cielo ended up in Avalor where I took care of him. I promised him that Hiccup and I will find her." Carlos explained.

"You really care for your dragon, don't you?" Elinor asked, smiling softly.

"Of course I do. He's like a brother to me." Carlos admitted.

"**You're like a brother to me too, Carlos.**" Cielo warbled.

"But I am curious about one thing." Elinor questioned, "Why are you traveling all by yourselves?"

Hiccup told the royal family of his old life on Berk; how the villagers hated him, his father ignoring him, the other teens bullying him, Gobber treating him like a son, dragon training, and how he befriended Toothless. Then he went on why he decided to leave Berk, who was behind the war between the dragons and the Vikings, defeating Red Death, reuniting with his mother, and going off to explore.

Then Carlos spoke of his parents and explained the dark time of Avalor caused by Shuriki the evil sorceress, Princess Elena being trapped in a magical amulet, Alacazar the royal wizard, the royal family being put in an enchanted painting, Princess Sofia and her mission, helping the young princess free Elena, defeating Shuriki, going against Noblins, and Elena becoming Crowned Princess.

"You're quite the adventurers, aren't you?" Fergus asked.

"Yup." Hiccup replied.

At that moment, someone's stomach growled. The boys turned to the dragons. Cielo was shyly looking away from their stares.

"**Sorry. Didn't eat enough for breakfast.**" Cielo warbled with his dilated eyes.

"It's okay, Cielo." Carlos comforted his dragon as he petted his head.

"Well then, perhaps lunch is in order." Elinor suggested.

"Sounds like a great idea." Hiccup accepted with a smile.

"By the way, what do your dragons eat anyway?" Fergus asked.

"Fish." Hiccup and Carlos answered in unison.

Minutes later, the boys and their dragons were having lunch with the royal family. During that time, Hiccup and Carlos told the tale of when they visited Corona; meeting of Flynn Rider, running from a homicidal horse who was after Flynn, meeting Rapunzel, the journey to see the floating lanterns, Rapunzel's magic hair restoring Hiccup and Toothless's lost limbs, helping Flynn escape the dungeon, defeating the impostor mother, healing Flynn, and Rapunzel reuniting with her parents.

"So her hair was able to heal the sick and injured?" Fergus asked.

"Yes, but she no longer has it because Flynn cut it off when she was going to heal him." Carlos replied.

"Why would he do that?" Elinor asked.

"Rapunzel was going to heal him and be forced to go with her impostor mother. So he cut off her hair so that she wouldn't be used to help that woman maintain her youth forever." Hiccup explained.

"I see." Elinor understood.

Having that kind of power would make any person greedy. Doing such a horrible thing to stay young forever. The King and Queen knew that no one should have that kind of power, it would only cause more harm than good. But it appeared to have done good seeing how Hiccup and Toothless had their missing limbs restored, which shocked them when he first told them.

"Oh, do you want to hear how I lost my leg?" Fergus asked.

The boys were about to refuse, but Fergus told the story anyway. Somehow the two boys didn't mind to hear it again.

"What about you, Merida?" Carlos asked, "Got any more stories for us to hear?"

"Actually, I do." Merida replied.

Merida then told the tale of how her mother turned into a bear which was caused by a spell that she bought from a witch out in the woods when she was trying to change her mother's mind about the whole marriage games going on and was able to change her back into a human. The boys and their dragons were shocked that Merida did that, but were glad that she was able to save her mother in the end.

"That's when I learned that you have to be very careful around witches." Merida concluded.

"Or make sure that her spell actually _work_." Carlos advised.

"Is this coming from Mateo's magical accidents experience?" Hiccup guessed, brow arched.

"Yup." Carlos said with popping the 'p' letter.

"I feel sorry for you, Carlos." Merida stated.

"I was lucky to survive them." Carlos remarked.

"Victims to my failed inventions were somewhat lucky to survive." Hiccup added, "Somehow I was lucky enough not to get exiled from the tribe every time that happened."

Merida and her family couldn't help but pity Hiccup. He was treated horribly as soon as he was born. Being different made him an outcast of his tribe. But they were glad that he had Gobber as a stand-in father figure and a good friend like Toothless. They could tell that he was smart, kind, and brave soul. He wasn't like the Vikings they heard about or encountered.

"By the way," Elinor interjected, "What do you plan on doing if Cielo's mother isn't here?"

"We plan on traveling more past DunBroch and see if she could possibly be there." Hiccup explained.

"Basically saying that we're not going to give up on finding her." Carlos added.

"Well, you all are welcomed to stay here while you search for Cielo's mother." Elinor declared.

"Really?" Carlos asked, disbelief with wide eyes.

"Of course. I can easily tell you wish to find your dragon's mother because she's very important to you. So I can't really leave you to stay out in the woods while looking for her." Elinor stated.

"Thank you, your majesty." Hiccup and Carlos bowed their heads.

* * *

_I'm a King. Regardless of what I've been through and what I've done, I present myself as a King. And I get that respect from people, from everybody I deal with. I worked my whole life to establish that respect and make sure I get that respect._ \- DMX


	23. Search and Explore

Chapter 23: Search and Explore

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

It was the morning of the next day when the two dragon riders along with Merida, who was riding with Cielo, decided to go and explore the woods of DunBroch. The King and Queen had sent out letters to see if any of the clans had seen Cielo's mother. Merida was their tour guide around the woods.

"I have to admit that there's a lot of woods to cover." Hiccup admitted as they flew over the trees.

"Are there any other places that someone could hide out?" Carlos asked.

"Yeah, head that way." Merida said as she pointed her finger over Carlos's shoulder to their next direction.

The dragon riders flew towards where Merida was pointing. Once they arrived, they were a bit curious as to why the place looked abandoned. The place looked a bit haunted and cold as they walked by some ruins of a building of some sort.

"What is this place, Merida?" Carlos asked, creeped out by the place.

"The ruins of the ancient kingdom. This is where Mor'du once lived," Merida answered as she lead them to a pit that looked to be a perfect place to rest and possibly live in, "Now that he's gone, it's possible that someone might have moved in here."

"Sounds like a possibility," Hiccup rubbed his chin, "But is there a river nearby?"

"A few miles west down that way." Merida said, pointing in the direction of the river.

"Let's head that way. It's also possible that there might be fish there as well." Hiccup declared.

"Meaning that a dragon would have a perfect water and food source." Carlos concluded.

"Exactly." Hiccup agreed as he mounted Toothless.

The group was off again and headed towards the west where Merida pointed at. The ride there was quiet as they landed in the forest. Once they landed, the group stopped in their tracks when they saw a small blue colored flame hovering in front of them.

"Merida, do you happen to know what that is?" Hiccup asked, pointing at the flame.

"It's a Wisp." Merida replied.

"What's a Wisp?" Carlos asked.

"They say that they're spirits that lead you to your fate." Merida answered.

"Interesting." Hiccup commented.

Toothless crawled up to the Wisp and slightly poked it. Suddenly it disappeared and a whole line of them appeared.

"_**Very **_**interesting.**" Toothless said.

"**Cool.**" Sharpshot and Cielo awed at the strange being.

"Where's it leading us?" Carlos asked.

"Let's find out." Merida said as she began following the Wisps with the dragon riders along with their dragons.

The Wisps began to disappear every time they got close to touching one. Then they all disappeared into thin air. Unexpectedly, they heard a roar nearby which caused everyone to jump at the noise.

"What was that?" Merida asked.

"That sounded like a dragon." Hiccup answered.

They quickly ran towards the source and ducked down in the bushes. Hiccup peeked over the bushes and took out his spyglass and gasped at what he saw.

"Hiccup, what's wrong?" Carlos asked.

"It's a Deadly Nadder, over by the river bank," Hiccup answered, "I didn't think there would be dragons way out here."

The rest of the group peeked over the bushes and gazed at the green and purple colored dragon that was laying down near the river, groaning in pain.

"Deadly Nadder?" Merida asked, brow arched.

"Yeah, it's a certain breed of dragon from where I'm from," Hiccup replied before looking back into his spyglass and spotted something on the dragon's left leg, "It seems to have an injury on its leg."

"Should we help it?" Carlos asked.

"We have to or else the dragon would have a hard time walking later in its life." Hiccup declared, worried for the injured Nadder.

"So what do we do?" Merida asked.

"We have to approach it carefully." Hiccup said.

The group began walking slowly towards the Nadder who sprung its head up when it heard their footsteps. Its pupils turned to slits and raised its tail where its spines stood up at the sight of the three humans and dragons. The Nadder growled at Hiccup and Toothless as they approached. Hiccup held his palms out in front of him, showing the dragon that he meant no harm.

"**Don't worry, we're not here to harm you.**" Hiccup assured the Nadder.

"**You speak our language?**" The female Nadder asked, shocked that the human in front of her could speak her species language.

"**Yeah, my friend here taught me.**" Hiccup gestured Toothless who was right beside him.

"**It's true.**" Toothless added, nodding.

"**Carlos is still learning though.**" Cielo commented.

"**My friends and I just want to help you. Could you let us?**" Hiccup asked.

"**Alright. But don't try anything funny.**" The Nadder warned as her spines went flat against her tail.

"**Understood.**" Hiccup agreed.

The group slowly went around the Nadder. Hiccup carefully treated the wound with Carlos's help while Merida gently stroke the Nadder's cheek which soothed her, causing her to purr. To the Nadder's point of view, she was slightly confused as to why she was letting the untamed red haired girl touch her. There was something about her that made her feel…connected to the girl.

"There, done." Hiccup said, finished with the bandage around the Nadder's leg.

He gathered his materials and stood up next to Carlos. The three humans backed away as they watched the Nadder carefully get to her feet. She squawked happily as she stood on her two legs. The group could tell that she was happy to be on her feet again.

"**Thank you for your help.**" The Nadder said, bowed.

"**You're welcome.**" Hiccup said, bowed, "**But go easy on your leg for a little bit.**"

"**Take care.**" Sharpshot prayed as he sat on Hiccup's shoulder.

The rest of the group turned around and headed back into the forest. But they stopped in their steps when they heard a squawk behind them. They glanced over their shoulders and saw the female Nadder following them.

"**Um…why are you following us?**" Sharpshot asked.

"**What's it like?**" The Nadder asked.

"**What's what like?**" Toothless asked, confused.

"**To have a rider.**" The Nadder replied.

The dragons and their riders were confused by the Deadly Nadder's words. They never expected a wild dragon to ask that sort of question. Even the dragons at the dragon sanctuary never asked that question. It was mostly because some weren't very keen on the thought of having a rider.

"**It's a great feeling.**" Toothless warbled, happily.

"**Indeed. It's almost as if you're riding with the other half of your soul.**" Cielo added.

"**A connection that's almost impossible to describe.**" Toothless said.

"**Is it really true?**" The Nadder asked with dilated eyes.

"**Yes.**" Toothless and Cielo replied.

"**Then I wish to have a rider.**" The Nadder decided.

"**Really?!**" Hiccup, Toothless, Sharpshot, and Cielo asked in unison.

"What did she say?" Carlos asked.

"She wants a rider." Hiccup answered.

"Really?" Merida and Carlos asked in unison with excitement.

"Yes." Hiccup replied.

Then the female Nadder walked up to Merida who stared at the dragon with wonder and curiosity. She pondered on how to gain the dragon's trust, but then she remembered the moment when she first met Toothless came to mind. She held her palm out, closed her eyes, and turned her head away. The female Nadder tilted her head to the side and sniffed the girl's palm. She smelled of the earth and water which was strange. But she could tell that the girl had a strong and free spirit much like her own. So she closed her eyes and pressed her snout against the girl's palm. Merida softly gasped when the Nadder's snout was pressed against her palm. She felt a spark between her and the dragon. She placed her hands on both sides of the Nadder's head and gently rubbed her cheeks.

"So what are you going to name her, Merida?" Hiccup asked.

"Her?" Merida asked.

"It's a female dragon." Hiccup pointed out.

"Oh," Merida realized, "How about Aileana?"

The Nadder looked to be pondering at the name until she nodded and pressed her snout against Merida's chest which made her hug the Nadder's head.

"**I like it.**" 'Aileana' agreed.

"She likes it, Merida." Hiccup said.

"I'm glad." Merida said, smiling as Aileana purred against her chest.

* * *

Soon after, the group decided to explore on foot. These woods seemed to be a little bit bigger than the one in Corona. However there were fewer villages and more of woodland areas. Hiccup couldn't help but admit that these woods reminded him of Raven's Point back at Berk. The place where Toothless had landed after getting tangled by his bola launcher and freed him. He chuckled quietly at the memory.

The walk was still quiet as they followed Merida down the forest path. They only things they saw were trees, bushes, forest critters, and birds. Once they spotted a clearing up ahead, the group decided to take a break. During that time, Hiccup educated Merida about everything on Deadly Nadders which she was very interested in. She wanted to go riding, but Hiccup suggested until after Aileana's injury is healed and that he'll have to make a saddle for her as well. Merida and Aileana reluctantly agreed to his reasoning. So in the meantime, the two were practicing with their aiming which meant Aileana's tail spikes and Merida's arrows. The two dragon riders could instantly tell that they were enjoying themselves. They soon noticed that the sun was going down.

"Merida, Aileana, we have to head back." Hiccup called out to Merida and Aileana.

The dragon riders mounted their dragons as Merida got onto Cielo's saddle behind Carlos. Aileana flew between the two dragons. The three flew off back to Merida's castle.

* * *

The group then arrived back the castle's courtyard. Most of the castle staff were shocked to see another dragon land in the courtyard. The dragon riders and Merida got off the dragons and began to plan for Aileana's training and saddle making while Aileana would recover from her injury.

"Here, you can stay here while you heal." Merida said as she lead Aileana to the empty horse stall.

Aileana entered the stall and carefully sat down in the hay and squawked at the tickling feeling of the hay brushing against her scales.

"**Comfy.**" Aileana purred.

"She likes it." Carlos stated.

"I'm glad." Merida said, smiling.

"Tomorrow, we'll do measurements for her saddle." Hiccup informed.

"Good, but how long will her healing take?" Merida asked.

"Possibly two weeks or maybe shorter if she takes it easy during that time." Carlos stated.

"Well, that's a long wait." Merida complained.

"In the meantime, we can teach you more about dragons." Hiccup offered.

"Maybe even train with us as well. We don't want to get rusty on our fighting skills." Carlos added.

"Works for me." Merida said as she smiled with her hands on her hips.

Then a female servant walked up to the group. She looked really nervous once she saw Aileana who tilted her head to the side when she saw the servant.

"Pardon me, princess, gentlemen. The King and Queen would like to speak with you." The servant said.

The group glanced at each other, wondering what the majesties wanted to talk to them about. The thought of the clans responding to the Queen's letters might be what Elinor wanted to talk to them about. So the riders and Merida left the dragons behind near the stables and followed after the servant.

* * *

The three teens were in the throne room with King Fergus and Queen Elinor once more.

"I'm afraid I have bad news for you boys." Elinor announced.

"What is it, your majesty?" Carlos asked.

"None of the clans have sited Cielo's mother anywhere." Elinor confirmed.

"But they promised that they'll inform us if they see anything related to her." Fergus assured.

"Thank you, your majesties." Carlos thanked the King and Queen as he and Hiccup bowed.

"You're welcome." Elinor said with a nod before she paused, "The servants have informed me that you have brought another dragon to the castle."

"Yes, your majesty. The dragon was injured and we brought her here to help recover." Hiccup explained.

"Not to mention that she wants Merida as her rider." Carlos added.

"The dragon chose her?" Fergus asked, brow arched, "Doesn't the rider choose?"

"Yes, but it's always up to the dragon or the rider to choose. However, Aileana chose Merida on her own free will." Hiccup defined.

"I see." Elinor said.

"So what do you think of DunBroch so far?" Fergus asked.

"I have to say that it's more vast and bigger than of Berk." Hiccup admitted, smiling with his arms spread out.

"Not to mention that the land is so green and beautiful." Carlos added, smiling as well.

"I'm glad. We take great pride in taking care of our land." Elinor stated.

"I also admit that the forge here is quite different from the one on Berk." Hiccup said.

"Aye, we have great blacksmith here who make excellent bows and arrows." Fergus commented.

"I fully agree to that." Merida added.

At that moment, Hiccup and Carlos came up with an idea. One that Merida would easily agree to, but her parents would have a hard time.

"Your majesties, can Merida come with us? She could help us find Cielo's mother." Carlos suggested.

"We could use some more help. Besides, she's an excellent archer and looks like she can take care of herself. Not to mention that Aileana will look out for her as well." Hiccup added.

King Fergus and Queen Elinor looked towards each other with worry and indecisiveness. They were both worried about their daughter leaving DunBroch. Especially on the back of a dragon. They could easily tell that Merida wanted to go with the two boys. After all, she did help protect Elinor when she was a bear and is able to hunt on her own. But the fear of letting her go was very hard.

"How about we think about before we make the decision?" Fergus suggested.

"That's fine with us." Hiccup agreed.

"In the meantime, you do dragon training with Merida and see how well she is with Aileana before we fully decide if she's able to travel with you." Elinor offered.

"Yes, your majesties." Hiccup and Carlos bowed.

* * *

_Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit. _\- Frank Borman


	24. Dragon Training

Chapter 24: Dragon Training

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

Two weeks have passed and Aileana's leg was fully healed. Merida was ready to do dragon training and her excitedness was easily noticed when she wouldn't stop smiling and a slight bounce was in her steps. During Aileana's healing, Merida made sure that the two boys were training with swords and archery. The boys could instantly tell that she liked to train with her weapons. At the moment, the group was at a field near the castle where dragon training was going to take place.

"Ready for your first lesson?" Hiccup asked.

"Yup!" Merida answered with a smile.

"Since you did most of the bonding lessons while Aileana was healing, we'll start with a flying lesson." Hiccup said.

"Yes!" Merida squealed with excitement.

Hiccup then instruct her on how to get onto the saddle without making Aileana too uncomfortable or make it difficult to stay on when they take off. Then what to do when they're up in the air. Once Merida mounted Aileana, the two boys mounted their dragons.

"Alright, you ready?" Hiccup asked.

"Ready!" Merida cheered.

"Let's go!" Hiccup ordered as he and Toothless along with Carlos and Merida's dragons went up into the sky.

Merida screamed with laughter as they entered the sky and flew above the castle and the field. They soon leveled out above the forest. Merida was loving this feeling, the wind blowing through her hair and seeing the land below her. Flying on her own dragon was absolutely amazing! Now she finally knew how free Hiccup and Carlos felt when they rode their dragons.

"Feels great, right?" Carlos asked, flying beside Aileana.

"Yes, I feel…" Merida began to say.

"Free." Hiccup finished as he flew on the other side of Aileana.

"Yeah." Merida and Carlos said in unison.

"**Like having a rider, Aileana?**" Toothless asked Aileana.

"**Yeah,**" Aileana answered, "**It's amazing.**"

"**An unexplainable feeling, right?**" Cielo asked.

"**Definitely.**" Aileana asked.

While high in the air, they did the trust exercise. Merida was surprised when the boys fell off their saddles and their dragons went after them. She let out a sigh of relief when their dragons caught them, landing them back on their saddles. Then the two flew on both of her sides.

"Okay, now your turn, Merida." Hiccup stated.

"Are you sure that this is safe?" Merida asked, a little bit nervous about falling.

"Just trust Aileana." Hiccup advised.

"She'll catch you." Carlos assured.

"Okay." Merida nodded.

Merida took a deep breath and let it out. She tilted to the side and soon fell off the saddle. She felt the air press against her back as she began to break through the clouds. She couldn't help but feel so free as she fell. But she was slightly scared of landing on the ground below her. However, Hiccup and Carlos assured her that she should trust Aileana and that she'll catch her. As soon as she rolled over and saw the ground coming towards her, she shut her eyes in fright. Suddenly she heard a whoosh and found herself on Aileana's saddle once more.

"You okay, Merida?" Carlos asked when he appeared on Aileana's left side.

"You two aren't hurt are you?" Hiccup asked.

"**I'm fine.**" Aileana said.

"**But why isn't Merida saying anything?**" Cielo asked.

The boys and their dragons stared at Merida who had a wide eyed shock look as she gazed ahead.

"Uh, Merida?" Hiccup questioned.

"That was...fantastic!" Merida cheered and turned to Hiccup, "Can we do it again?"

The other dragon riders couldn't help but chuckle at Merida's response. They could tell that she loved being a dragon rider and would be glad to join them for their journey ahead.

"Why not?" Hiccup smiled as he and Carlos shrugged.

* * *

It was dinner time when the three dragon riders returned back to the castle. They were all happy about today's successful trust exercises along with Merida adjusting to Aileana's saddle while flying. They flew all around the woods and over the lake. To Merida's point of view, it was a great way to spend the afternoon.

The teens put their dragons into the stables and took off their saddles so that they could relax. They brought a barrel of fish for each of them. As the dragons ate, the teens went into the dining room where the rest of Merida's family was eating. After two weeks of eating Scotland food, Hiccup and Carlos were starting to like their food including haggis which earned looks of disgust from the triplets whenever they ate it. So when the three teens entered the room, they all grabbed something for their meals.

"So how was dragon training today?" Elinor asked.

"It went great today." Carlos answered.

"She nailed every exercise on her first try." Hiccup commented.

"It was amazing!" Merida squealed.

Elinor couldn't help but smile and slightly shook her head. She knew that her daughter was enjoying doing dragon training with her new dragon, Aileana. But she also knew that Merida would want to join the two on their journey to finding Cielo's mother. It would be a possibly dangerous one as well. However, Merida would probably fight tooth and nail to join the two boys. So she watched her daughter talk of the exercises that she and Aileana did during training. When she mentioned the part of falling off her saddle, her heart nearly dropped as well. Hiccup assured her that Aileana caught her and will always protect Merida whenever she was in trouble.

"But how do you know that, Hiccup?" Elinor asked.

"Once you've earned a dragon's trust, there's nothing that they won't do for you." Hiccup declared.

"I totally agree to that." Carlos added.

"Me too." Merida agreed.

"Your majesties, I have a request." Hiccup said as he stood up.

"What is it?" Fergus asked, mid bite of his chicken wing.

"I would like to reenact a scenario for the final part of the training." Hiccup replied.

"What kind of scenario is it?" Elinor asked.

"A rescue mission." Hiccup answered.

"Rescue mission?" Fergus asked, brow arched.

"Yes, there might be a time when one of us might be captured. So someone has to do it if there are others who are unable to." Hiccup explained.

Fergus and Elinor glanced at each other and looked back at Hiccup. It made sense when Hiccup put it that way. They knew that there might be a possible chance that someone might try to capture them because of their skill of riding dragons and that someone might want to learn the secret behind it.

"Very well." Elinor accepted Hiccup's request.

* * *

Today was the day that Merida would test her dragon training. She and Aileana would practice a rescue situation with the Scots pretending to be enemies. The guards were worried for the princess. But Merida's parents assured them that they trust the dragon riders and Aileana to protect Merida if something went wrong. The queen had also invited the three clans to come and watch the last part of her training. The clans agreed and came to watch. Right now the clans were down by the shore to see Merida in action.

"Load the catapults!"

"Ready the bola nets!"

The clans men were preparing for the test at the cliff side of the castle not too far from shore. It had a perfect setting for a rescue situation. Some of the clans men were excited for this test. They haven't used their catapults in a while. Not to mention that they wanted to see a dragon rider in action.

Meanwhile, Merida was at the stable, getting ready for the test. She was slightly nervous about it. Carlos volunteered to become the hostage for the situation. Hiccup, Toothless, and Cielo were on standby in case something goes wrong.

"Nervous?" Carlos asked.

Merida looked over her shoulder and saw Carlos standing near the door with Cielo behind him.

"Yeah, a little." Merida admitted, rubbing her left arm.

"You're going to do great, Merida. Just remember our training is all. But most important of all: trust Aileana," Carlos advised, "When you do that, she'll have your back."

"**Don't worry, I'll be there for you.**" Aileana warbled as she pressed her cheek against Merida's.

Merida smiled at Aileana's reassurance as she stroked her cheek. Somehow, Aileana made her feel less nervous. She knew that if she passed, she would be able to join the two dragon riders on their journey to finding Cielo's mother. But doing so would mean that she will be leaving her home. She was a little bit hesitant at the thought. However, she really wanted to see what's beyond Dunbroch.

"Merida, we better get going if you want to pass this test." Carlos reminded her.

"Right." Merida confirmed as she lead Aileana out of the stables.

The two mounted their dragons and headed towards the lake where they saw a platform near the shore along with the rest of the castle staff and the three clans with their men were.

"Okay, the last part of your training includes a rescue mission. You'll be facing unsuspecting surprises as you try and rescue Carlos. If anything goes wrong, Cielo, Toothless, and I will help out." Hiccup explained.

Cielo flew off with Carlos in his grip and headed towards the cliff side. Carlos jumped off Cielo and came onto a ledge to hang onto.

"Are you ready?" Hiccup asked.

"Ready." Merida nodded with determination.

"Okay then. On your marks, get set, go!" Hiccup yelled.

Merida and Aileana quickly headed towards the cliff where Carlos was hanging onto the rope that was attached to the cliff side. Merida knew that Carlos couldn't hold onto the edge for long.

"Dragon rider, attack!" A guard yelled.

Then a pack of arrows were shot towards Merida and Aileana who squawked and flew up to avoid the arrows, and did a barrel roll to avoid the rest. She had to think of something to help Carlos before he falls. Then she smiled when she got an idea and flew up to Carlos's level.

"Don't move." Merida told him, he nodded staying still as she took a breath.

"Aileana Spine shot, under the feet and arms!" Merida commanded.

Aileana squawked as she whipped her tail sending 4 spines out under Carlos's arms and then two under his feet.

"Alright girl, take us down," Merida said as Aileana flew down lower. "Spine shot the cliff side!"

Aileana shot at the cliff as Merida stood up on her back.

"Keep steady, Aileana." Merida said as soon as she saw it she leapt from Aileana's back towards the cliff and grabbed onto the spines sticking out of it.

"Keep it going girl, two each all the way up!" Merida told her Deadly Nadder.

Aileana stayed almost three feet from the cliff side but stayed slightly higher than Merida to keep the spines going so they were there as Merida climbed the side of the wall until she got just under Carlos and looked up at him panting.

"Four shots to the left girl!" Merida said, Aileana shot 4 to the left of Carlos so Merida was right beside him now. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just hangin'." Carlos stated, slightly shrugged.

Merida couldn't help but grin at the slight humor to Carlos's statement. Trust Carlos to make small humor in any situation they were in. Then she looked up seeing the guards on the cliff throwing boulders down at them.

"Aileana, blast them!" Merida yelled, Aileana looked up and fired at the guards making them step back and fall to the floor along the castle wall.

"Good girl, now come back down here." Merida said as she carefully turned around facing out now using the original spines to keep herself standing there, she wrapped her arm around Carlos's waist as Aileana came level with them again.

"Do you trust me, Carlos?" Merida asked him.

"Of course I do, Merida." Carlos told her with a nod and smile.

"Good." Merida nodded and positioned her feet off the cliff side and kicked off pulling Carlos with her. "Aileana, now!" Merida called in mid air, Aileana turned around as Merida grabbed her tail with one arm and grunted as she made sure to hold on to Carlos tightly. "Aileana, tail flip!" Merida called out. Aileana whipped her tail in the air sending them flying upwards and when they came back down, Aileana moved under them so they landed on her back in the saddle. Before either of them could say something, catapults were launching boulders at them again.

"Aileana, evasive twirl maneuvers! Hang on tight, Carlos!" Merida told him, he wrapped his arms around her waist as Aileana whipped around twirling in flight to avoid the boulders. Aileana leveled out and then whipped around heading right for the catapults.

"Fire girl!" Merida ordered. Aileana opened her mouth and reduced them to ash in seconds, then Merida directed her back to the platform and landed there as she climbed off then Carlos got off, "So how did I do?"

Hiccup and Carlos glanced at each other before looking back at Merida.

"I have to say that that was a crazy and well executed rescue mission I've ever seen." Carlos commented.

"You avoided danger, you recognized your dragon couldn't get you close to Carlos, but also saw that he wouldn't hold on for a long amount of time so you made a way for him to hold on safely. You used your dragon's spines as a ladder up the cliff to him and asked if he was alright. You made sure to hold him and get yourselves off the cliff, avoid more enemy fire, destroyed their weapons, and got back down here in one piece. We're both very impressed, Merida." Hiccup stated.

"So…" Merida began, baiting to hear what the two boys had to say.

"You passed!" The boys yelled in unison with smiles on their faces.

Merida smiled as wide as she could and leaped towards the boys and wrapped her arms around their necks. The boys chuckled and returned the hug. Then her family joined in the hug as the audience clapped happily with a thunderous applause for the princess. Merida was so happy. She had passed the test.

* * *

Later that day, the royal family was celebrating Merida of completing her dragon training test. Her family were so proud of her. They all had faith that she would be able to do. For the celebration, the queen allowed that dragons to join them. All of the guests were talking among themselves about today. They were all impressed on how Merida did her test. It was amazing how she and her dragon were able to save Carlos from such a dangerous situation.

"Are you excited about coming with us?" Hiccup asked.

"Absolutely! I can't wait to go and explore!" Merida squealed.

"**It's going to be a grand adventure.**" Toothless said.

"**Indeed, I haven't seen much of dragons since I first came here.**" Aileana added.

"**Maybe we'll find more dragons.**" Sharpshot suggested.

"**I sure hope so.**" Cielo said.

Then the sound of clapping interrupted everyone's conversation and they all turned to the person who clapped; Queen Elinor.

"Everyone, may I have your attention, please?" Elinor asked.

Everyone remained silent as Elinor began to speak.

"As of tomorrow, my daughter will be joining Hiccup and Carlos on their journey. The three have shown us that we are capable of befriending dragons and that peace can exist with them." Elinor announced, "We don't know how long the journey may take, but we must support them in their decision of leaving. So we'll be seeing them off tomorrow."

The crowd cheered at the news. They were glad that the princess was going off to explore. However they would miss her, especially her family. But she needed to do this. She wanted to help someone and explore as well. The start of Merida's journey began tomorrow and she couldn't wait to see what she'll discover out there.

* * *

"_We need the tonic of wildness…At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature."_ – Henry David Thoreau


	25. Two Dreamers

Chapter 25: Two Dreamers

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

It was the next morning after the celebration for the dragon riders' departure. Everyone was in the courtyard as the riders were standing in front of the King and Queen along with their three sons.

"Be careful out there." Fergus warned.

"Don't worry." Carlos assured.

"We will." Hiccup stated.

"As long as we have each other's back, we'll be fine." Merida said.

"Good." Fergus said with his hands on his hips.

Elinor walked up to Merida and hugged her as Merida returned. Then Fergus and the triplets joined the hug.

"I'll miss you all." Merida admitted.

"We'll miss you too, dear." Elinor said.

Then Merida's parents and brothers let go of her. She smiled sadly at them before she mounted Aileana. Elinor walked up to Aileana and placed her hand on her cheek.

"Aileana, protect my daughter for me." Elinor requested.

"**Of course I will. Nothing bad will happen to her on my watch.**" Aileana crooned as she pressed her head against Elinor's chest who hugged her head. Then she stepped away from Elinor.

"Thank you for everything." Hiccup thanked the King and Queen.

"Good luck out there." Fergus prayed for the three dragon riders.

The three riders nodded and the dragons spread out their wings. Then they shot up into the air and soon out of sight.

"They'll be fine, love." Fergus said as he wrapped his right arm around her shoulders.

"I know. However I can't help but worry." Elinor stated.

"Like Hiccup said, once you've earned a dragon's trust, there's nothing that they won't do for you." Fergus reminded her.

"Yes, you're right." Elinor said with a small smile as the two continued to look up at the sky.

* * *

After they left DunBroch, they continued flying over the land. Then the three landed near the beach and unmounted their dragons. They needed to rest their dragons before they headed any further. The two boys went fishing as their dragons rested. After gathering enough for the seven of them, Hiccup made a fire and Carlos handed some of the fish to the dragons while Merida placed them on sticks so that they could cook near the fire. Then they heard footsteps nearby, the dragons turned towards the sound, but didn't see who it was. The three riders slowly walked to the source as they hid behind a rock. When they peeked over the rock, they were face to face with two girls.

"AAAHHH!" The five humans screamed as they fell to the ground.

"Who-Who are you?" One of the girls stuttered.

"We should be asking you that!" Carlos yelled, pointing at the two girls.

The first girl appeared to be at least two or three years older than the three of them. She was slender with fair skin, long dark red hair, brown eyes, and pink lips. She had a gold headband in her hair in a low ponytail with a gold hair-tie. She wore a purple tunic with two dark purple laces and collar, underneath was a dark yellow long sleeved shirt and a long sleeved light blue shirt underneath it, around her waist was a dark purple sash. She also wore a light blue tight pants and brown ankle boots with dark brown cuffs.

The other girl was at probably at their age. She had fair skin, brown eyes, long brown hair that was tied in a low ponytail. She wore a similar outfit to the other girl except she had no headband. She wore a teal tunic with two dark blue laces and collar. Underneath was a dark brown long sleeved shirt with a long black sleeved shirt. Around her waist she wore a dark blue sash. She also wore light brown tight pants and dark brown ankle boots with brown cuffs.

"But who are you three?" The other girl asked.

"Oh, my name is Hiccup. This is Carlos and Merida." Hiccup introduced the two riders.

"Are those...dragons?" The other girl asked.

"Yeah. This is Toothless and Sharpshot." Hiccup gestured to the two dragons who smiled at them.

"And this is Cielo." Carlos introduced his Stormcutter.

"This is Aileana." Merida introduced her Deadly Nadder.

"I'm Kayley and this is my sister, Audrey." 'Kayley' greeted, the red haired girl, and gestured to the brown haired girl next to her.

"Pleasure to meet you." Hiccup said.

"I've never seen a dragon up close before." 'Audrey' said as she stood in front of Toothless.

Toothless tilted his head when he noticed the girl didn't seem to be afraid of him. Sharpshot flew over to her shoulder and nuzzled her cheek. She chuckled at the attention from the Terrible Terror and petted his scales which caused the little dragon to purr.

"So where are you three from?" Kayley asked.

"I'm from the island of Berk in the Barbaric Archipelago." Hiccup answered.

"The kingdom of Avalor." Carlos said.

"And I'm from Dunbroch." Merida said.

"Wow," Audrey gasped, "So you're travelers."

"Yup." Hiccup agreed.

"We're also looking for someone." Merida said.

"Who?" Kayley asked.

"Cielo's mother." Carolos answered.

"Mother?" Audrey asked.

"Yes, Cielo got separated from his mother in a storm and ended up in Avalor where I took care of him and learned how to ride him." Carlos explained, "So we're trying to find his mother right now. But no luck so far."

After that, the five humans continued to talk with one another about where they came from and how they met. Kayley and Audrey were hung on every word the riders said. The two were fascinated about their adventures. Then the girls told them about Camelot, King Arthur, the legendary sword, Excalibur and their father who was a knight who protected the kingdom of Camelot who unfortunately died when he was protecting King Arthur from Ruber, a fallen knight who wanted to rule over Camelot.

"We both want to go to Camelot and become knights. Just like our father." Kayley declared.

"But our mother won't let us. She just wants us to stay here and do boring chores for the rest of our lives." Audrey added, "But I also want to become a great healer as well."

Hiccup and Carlos could easily tell that these girls were high spirited and wanted to leave their home. But their mother is keeping them on a short leash. Merida knew exactly how they felt. Except it involved marriage.

"Did you ever talk about it to your mom?" Hiccup asked.

"Tried." Audrey answered.

"But we won't give up." Kayley assured them.

"Hey do you have a place to stop for tonight?" Audrey asked.

"Uh, no, we don't." Merida replied.

"You could stay here if you want to." Kayley offered.

Hiccup looked up at the sky and noticed the sun was going down and glanced at the two riders and shrugged.

"That would be great." Hiccup accepted.

Soon afterwards, Kayley and Audrey lead the group up to their home. When the two introduced their mother, Lady Juliana, to the dragon riders, she was very surprised to see real dragons and people who are able to ride them as well. But they were able to reassure her that the dragons won't harm her or her daughters or servants. So that somehow brought some relief to Juliana and let the riders stay. Unfortunately they didn't have enough room for them to sleep. Hiccup suggested that they could sleep in the stables with their dragons. Juliana declined on letting them do so. But Hiccup said that they were used to it. Being outvoted, she let the dragon riders stay in the stables for the night.

* * *

"_It is the possibility of the dream, which quickens my spirit to take action."_ ― Lailah Gifty Akita


	26. Ruber The Evil Knight

Chapter 26: Ruber The Evil Knight

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

It was the next day when the teens heard a horn in the distance. Hiccup and the others were confused at what the horn meant until they saw Kayley and Audrey gasp before running into their home. The three followed after them. When they came in, they saw Juliana and her servants making two white dresses. The sisters told their mother of the horn they heard earlier; Arthur's sword, Excalibur, has been stolen! But then they mentioned of going off to find it.

"No! Absolutely not!" Juliana protested.

"Mother, Excalibur is missing. We _must_ go after it." Kayley begged.

"That's a job for knights, not for young girls." Juliana reasoned.

"But Audrey and I want to be a knight," Kayley said.

"Going on grand adventures. Fighting evil." Audrey added.

"Rescuing damsels in distress," Kayley and Audrey said as they spun around and stopped with a confused look.

"What is a damsel, anyway?" Kayley asked.

At that moment, the servants placed a white dress on Kayley and one on Audrey. Juliana was helping them to straighten it out on the two girls.

"Then what about us?" Hiccup asked.

"We've been on a lot of dangerous situations before." Carlos added.

"We could go and find it." Merida suggested.

"You three have experience, but my daughters _don't_." Juliana stated.

"Fair point." Hiccup admitted.

"Now, Kayley, Audrey, stand still, and try on your new dress." Juliana said.

"Mother! We don't want a new dress. We want to save Camelot." Kayley protested.

"If you'd just let me and Kayley, I know we'd find Excalibur all on our own." Audrey stated.

"The knights will find the sword, and they'll do it by working together." Juliana defended. As Kayley took her father's, Sir Lionel, shield from a servant who was going to clean it.

"While Audrey and I work here. Doing the chores." Kayley complained as she handed the shield back to the servant.

"Fetching the eggs, taking care of the house!" Audrey listed off.

"Boring! Where's the glory in that?" Kayley questioned as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Kayley, Audrey...one day, you will learn what Camelot means," Juliana said as she puts her hands on Kayley and Audrey's shoulder, then places her hand on both of their cheeks, "Till then, you'll stay here with me."

"Oh, alright!" Kayley and Audrey said as they back away from Juliana and take off the dresses. Lady Juliana sighs and the two girls run off to their rooms.

"What would you do?" Juliana asked as she looked at the tapestry of her family.

One of the dragon riders wanted to answer Juliana, but they knew that she needed to think of something herself. So the group left the house and followed the path that leads to the beach to give Juliana some time to herself and for her daughters to calm down. Hours went by and the sun soon began to set as they sat in the sand, watching the waves hit the rocks.

"I don't think that Juliana will ever let her daughters go out and find the sword." Carlos commented, looking at the ocean.

"That's true," Merida added, "It's like she doesn't want them to leave her."

"Well, those two are all she has left of her husband. Not to mention that she's probably afraid to lose them the same way she lost Lionel." Hiccup stated, doodling in the sand with a small branch.

"So very true. My mother was almost the same way when she wanted me to become the perfect princess. But I don't think that getting a spell from a witch will fix this kind of problem." Merida concluded.

"With that issue aside, King Arthur needs Excalibur and his knights might need help." Hiccup said.

"So you want to offer them our help?" Carlos suggested.

"Precisely," Hiccup answered, "But I don't really want to delay our trip too long."

"However, you feel the need to help, right?" Merida asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Yeah, but who would try to take the sword from Arthur and how was the person able to do it?" Hiccup questioned.

At that moment, they heard a chirp nearby which seem to almost echo towards them.

"Hiccup, did you hear that?" Carlos asked.

"Yeah, I did." Hiccup replied.

They soon heard the flapping of wings and saw a familiar Terrible Terror flying towards them.

"Sharpshot!" Hiccup shouted as he quickly got to his feet and Sharpshot landed onto Hiccup's hands.

"Sharpshot, what's wrong?" Hiccup asked, holding the dragon in his hands.

"**Lady Juliana and her daughters have been captured along with Toothless, Cielo, and Aileana! They're being held hostage by a bunch of thugs who are lead by a guy in red armor.**" Sharpshot said, worriedly.

"What?" Hiccup asked with wide eyes.

"What did Sharpshot say, Hiccup?" Merida asked.

"Lady Juliana and her daughters are captured along with our dragons." Hiccup translated to Merida and Carlos who soon gasped at the news.

The riders quickly left the beach and ran towards the path. It was nighttime when they came near the house, they instantly spotted a few wagons nearby along with the thugs that Sharpshot mentioned. The three heard the roars of their dragons. Seeing the thugs distracted, the riders quietly ran to the ledge that was on the left side of the house where they could remain out of sight. Hiccup quickly spotted a crack in the wall and looked through the crack that was big enough for him to walk through. He saw three large men restraining Juliana and her daughters. Then a man wearing red armor that had a spike in both shoulder pads exited Juliana's house. To Hiccup's point of view, he felt unsettled by this guy. He had a feeling that this man was Ruber, the evil knight who killed Kayley and Audrey's father when they were little.

_Years from now, no one will bother_

_To recall your good King Arthur_

_Because all of this will be mine_

_This will all be mine_

_I have a plan, it includes you_

_You, Juliana, will lead me to Camelot_

_Where I will claim all that is mine_

_In the back of your wagons, my men will all hide_

_You'll sit up front as the gates open wide_

_Now watch me create_

_My mechanical army with pride_

One of Ruber's soldiers came up to him and opened a box that a vile of glowing green liquid inside of it. Ruber plucked it out of the box and held it in front of himself which was labeled as "ACME" on it.

_With this potion I bought from some witches_

_A drop on this chicken_

_Oh, watch as it switches into a weapon_

_That I can use at will_

_Now this chicken can kill_

Ruber grabbed a chicken and put a few drops of the green potion on it and caught the axe that was thrown to him. Then he tossed the chicken and the axe into the water pit. A giant stream of green smoke erupted from the pit and a chicken with an axe for a beak popped up.

_Ta-dah, behold_

_A blade beak_

Ruber hummed as he walked along the rim of the water pit while the smoke rose from the pit.

_Stand right up and enter quickly_

_I'll transform the meek and sickly_

_Into iron men with hands of steel_

A thug walked up to the water pit and Ruber pushed him in with two sets of chained maces. Another soldier popped out of the water with the chained maces as his arms. The other thugs gathered around and bringing their weapons to merge with them.

_Yes, yes, into the water quickly, now go you fools_

_Next stand up straight, now move it along_

_No, no, no, no, no, that's no good_

_Prepare for the dawning of a new age_

Two of the thugs went to the pit, letting go of Kayley and Audrey which surprised the two girls.

_The Ruberian age_

_Year one_

The transformed soldier was walking up the stairs while looking at Ruber. The girls quickly moved back. The soldier grabbed onto Juliana's other arm.

"Go to Camelot. Warn Arthur." Juliana quietly ordered while the two soldiers were distracted.

"We can't leave you here." Kayley protested.

"Girls, Ruber will be in Camelot in three days. Take the main road. Get there before us." Juliana instructed.

"But, mother-" Audrey protested.

"Go! While you still have the chance." Juliana ordered.

"Kayley, Audrey."

The two girls looked over their shoulders and saw Hiccup standing in the crack in the wall and gestured them to follow him.

"Hurry, you're our only hope." Juliana declared, looking over her shoulder.

The two gazed at their mother and soon followed after Hiccup.

"Be careful, dears." Juliana prayed as she watched her daughters leave.

Ruber and his new soldiers danced around the glowing green pit.

_Only one will be revered_

_Worshiped, hated, loved and feared_

_I'd just like to say a few words_

_I, me, mine_

Ruber stepped onto the stack of crates and stood on the top one as he grinned evily with a twitching eyebrow.

_You were mistaken if you believed_

_Ruber was someone who'd crumble and leave_

_Now I am back and I will be staying this time_

_I told you once and I told you twice_

Ruber jumped over the crates and twirled in the air before landing on his two feet. Once he stood up, he held his hands in the air as his ironmen crowded around him.

_Everything you see before you_

_Every last bit of it will be mine_

Three interlocked rings rise and form behind Ruber and his ironmen. The green smoke formed into interlocked rings which was the symbol of Camelot until one of the rings turned into a snake's head and started biting into the other circles, causing them to disperse. Ruber let out an evil chuckle as the smoke snake evaporated.

* * *

_But those with an evil heart seem to have a talent for destroying anything beautiful which is about to bloom. _\- Cynthia Rylant


	27. The Forbidden Forest

Chapter 28: Dragon Country

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

Garrett led the group out of the wooded area of the forest and entered a clearing. Unaware that Ruber and some of his ironmen were watching them. As Garrett, the sisters, and the riders walked further, they noticed a few dead trees and there was some kind of fog up ahead of them. Then the group saw Garrett sniffing the air.

"Have you got a cold?" Kayley asked.

"Shh!" Garrett shushed. Ayden lands on a dead tree stump, which suddenly collapsed in smithereens.

"What is it?" Audrey asked as Ayden perched on another stump.

"We're in Dragon Country." Garrett answered.

"Oh," Kayley sniffed the air, "Right."

Soon enough the group was walking through the terrain of the Dragon Country. Hiccup found it strange that they didn't seem to find any dragons roaming around anywhere.

"Are you sure that this is Dragon Country?" Audrey asked as they climbed through a dragon skeleton which acted as a bridge, "Shouldn't there be a sign or something?"

"Hey, it could say "Welcome to Dragon Country"!" Kayley suggested as they entered a gorge that was filled with dragon skeletons and carcasses, eggs, pits of lava, and geysers. Kayley looked around, "You don't think we see any, do you? Is there a group of dragons a pack or a flock? Is it a gaggle or a pride? Is it a herd?"

"Quiet!" Garrett shushed with his hand out suddenly.

"Do you hear something?" Kayley and Audrey asked.

"No," Garrett pulled his hand back and turned slightly, "I just wanted you to be quiet."

"He's right, you know." Hiccup pointed out, "We don't want to get unwanted attention."

Kayley and Audrey grunted in anger as they walked behind Garret along with the others. The sisters couldn't believe that everyone would side with the blind man. Suddenly, a steaming boulder fell right in front of Kayley's feet. Kayley gasped as she and Audrey stepped back in order from getting hit by the boulder. Carlos and Merida turned towards the sisters and saw the boulder at Kayley's feet. They looked up to see what has caused it, there were some familiar shapes that might be a dragon, they looked around cautiously while slowly backing away from each other, until Kayley's right foot stepped on an egg. She turned and pulled out her foot that was covered with green slime. Meanwhile, Garrett and Hiccup walked around, unaware of what's going on, they continued to venture downward. Kayley then managed to shake the slime off her foot. Then the group heard some growling noises, making them look around, Garrett and Hiccup were nowhere in sight.

"Garrett! Hiccup! Where are you?!" Kayley shouted when she and the others saw a shadow of a dragon and ran to find some cover. They gathered at the center of the eggs, but with their backs turned, two pairs of hands reached out and pulled the others in the eggshell. It was Garrett and Hiccup, he shushed them, and then they slowly looked out of the eggshell to see if anything is all right. Kayley and Audrey spotted a shadow of a two headed dragon on the wall and gasped.

"Dragons!" Audrey gasped.

"Where? I don't see any dragons!" A male voice said.

Kayley and Audrey knew that the shadow had spoken and turned around to see a tall dragon's head and a short dragon's head, the two girls screamed then fell backwards, breaking the eggshell that they're in. The tall head screamed as he lowered himself back inside the other half of the shell.

"But, _you're_ dragons." Kayley pointed out, confused.

"Oh heavens! Someone's found our hiding place!" The first male voice said, slightly scared.

"Shut up, cricket ball! Let me handle this. We are dragons! Ferocious hungry dragons! So go away before we eat you!" The second male voice warned, trying to be intimidating.

The group looked at each other with confusion. Then the second voice made a shadow puppet on the wall, depicting a monster's mouth which wasn't very effective.

"Oh, good show Corny, That is clever. Here, let me have a go." The first male voice said sarcastically as he tapped the second male voice's hand and then made a shadow puppet of a bunny while he hummed.

"Oh great! The bunny of death," The second male voice mocked before he grabbed the other hand and then they start fighting, "They're always cringing in fear."

As they were fighting, Garrett approached the eggshell and rapped his staff several times on it, making them stop what they were doing and raised their heads out of the eggshell.

"Please don't hurt us!" The tall headed dragon pleaded.

"And I thought you were ferocious dragons." Garrett commented, sarcastically.

"Well, not exactly. The real ferocious ones were the most fire breathing bullies out there." The short headed dragon said as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder, indicating the other dragons out there.

"Yes! They're always picking on us, calling us names, pushing us around! I hate them!" The tall head spat with scorn.

"Hey, hey! Easy with the stick buddy." The short head warned as he pushed away Garrett's staff from his body.

"What are you?" Garrett asked.

"Well, frankly we're the reason cousins shouldn't marry," The tall head said as they got up, they break down the eggshell which revealed that they're a conjoined twin dragon. Kayley and the others looked speechless at them, "Oh. Enchanté mademoiselles. I'm Devon, and this _growth_ on my neck is Cornwall."

"But you can call me, "Corny" for short." 'Cornwall' offered, wiggling his eyebrows, while holding Kayley's hand as she giggled when he said that.

"Yes, short on wits, manners, and charm. Everything I hold dear." Devon commented, placing his hand on his chest.

At that comment, Cornwall grabbed Devon's snout and plugged his nostrils.

"How 'bout holding ya' breath?" Cornwall suggested, rudely.

"Come on, everyone. Let's go." Garrett ordered.

Then the group turned around and followed Garrett. Cornwall and Devon noticed that they were leaving them.

"Hey, hey! Where are you going?" Cornwall asked as he let go of Devon's snout.

"To save Camelot!" Kayley and Audrey said.

"Camelot! The restaurants, the theaters!" Devon listed off, beamed.

"The waitresses, the actresses." Cornwall continued the list, grinning.

"The dragons." Devon added.

After they have said that word, they heard a dragon roaring nearby.

"The dragons?!" Devon and Cornwall exclaimed with panic.

Suddenly, Kayley and the others spotted something and they started running. The creature revealed itself to be a gigantic, fire-breathing dragon. A very unfriendly one at that. It blasted fire right on Devon and Cornwall's rear end, causing them to shout in pain. As the two run off, they get blasted a few more times. When they caught up with the others, Kayley saw a lake of green liquid with floating dragon eggs.

"Wait! What is it?" Kayley asked.

"Don't worry. It's perfectly safe." Devon said as he and Cornwall crossed the lake by hopping on the floating eggs.

The others stopped at the edge of the lake. Garrett poked his staff in the lake, which burned the staff's tip which meant that the green liquid was acid.

"Hmmm. Safe?" Garrett asked as he broke off the charred part of his staff as Kayley pulled him to get themselves to the other side and the others followed.

"**Doesn't look safe to me.**" Sharpshot said.

Devon and Cornwall jumped onto two eggs and nearly lose their balance.

"As long as you don't step in it." Cornwall warned.

Kayley and the others began jumping onto the eggs to get to the other side. However Garrett was the last one to cross. Once the others got to the other side with the two dragons, Garrett carefully crossed the acid lake with Ayden helping him. Suddenly, the dragon reappeared with a comrade as they both fly toward the heroes.

"Ayden!" Garrett yelped as he nearly slipped, but with Ayden's help, hopped to another egg.

"Garrett, hurry!" Kayley pleaded.

"You think this is easy?" Garrett retorted as he gestured to the lake of acid while standing on the egg.

As he jumped to another egg, another dragon emerged from the acid waterfall and breathed fire. It leapt and caused a tidal wave of acid, allowing Garrett to get to the other side. As Kayley and Hiccup get Garrett back on his feet, the third dragon emerged from the acid lake with its two comrades. As the three dragons chased the heroes, they breathed fire on the trail, which explosively blew up parts of the ground, but they managed to jump away from the fiery breaths.

"Yikes! It's another dragon!" Cornwall panicked when he spotted a winged creature in the fog.

But Kayley, Audrey, and the riders knew what it really was.

"That's not a dragon!" Hiccup said.

"It's a griffin!" Kayley corrected as the fog cleared and the said winged creature revealed himself while at the same time Ruber and three of his minions emerged from the fog.

"And Ruber!" Audrey gasped.

"They've found us!" Merida said, seeing their enemies closing in on them.

"Down here!" Cornwall directed as he and Devon jumped into a hole that was big enough for them to fall into.

Kayley, Garrett, and the others followed them. As Ruber and his minions stopped to see them gone, Ruber looks around and saw the dragons approaching. They landed wildly on their feet as they roared at them. Ruber and his minions prepared for combat. One dragon spotted Ruber, who threw his sword aside and slowly and calmly backed up against the wall and remained still with a glare on his face. The dragon approached him, it opened its mouth to reveal its sharp teeth and green saliva. Ruber rolled his eyes in annoyance and disgust, knowing that the dragon was wasting his time and violently punched the dragon very hard, causing it to breathe fire in pain.

* * *

Meanwhile Kayley, Audrey, Garrett, the riders and the two headed dragon were sliding down the hole. Devon and Cornwall got out first, but they accidentally landed on a sharp stalactite which caused them to yelp in pain. Ayden, Sharpshot, and Kayley get out soon after Devon and Cornwall, she started to get up, but Garrett along with everyone else fell on her and rolled away from each other.

"Are you sure we're safe down here?" Audrey asked as everyone was getting to their feet.

"It's a lot safer down here than it is up there." Cornwall said as he pulled the stalactite off of their rear end.

"We know all the best escape routes." Devon informed.

"We've been dodging those bullies since we were 200 years old." Cornwall added as he threw the stalactite away, which hit Garrett by accident, knocking him down.

"Were we ever that young?" Devon asked, dramatically.

"Of course we were, you moron!" Cornwall insulted.

"I'm not a moron!" Devon defended.

"Yes, you are!" Cornwall declared.

"No, I'm NOT!" Devon protested loudly.

"With all that bickering, I'm surprised that you haven't fried each other yet." Garrett commented as Hiccup and Carlos helped him up.

"_Fry_? We can't even simmer." Devon admitted and tried to breathe fire, only to coughed out a puff of smoke.

"Yeah, you see. Unlike most dragons he can't breathe fire or fly," Cornwall complained as they turned around and showed their wings which flapped for a second, "Sad really."

"Oh excusez-moi, Mr. Self-Denial. But _we _can't breathe fire or fly." Devon corrected Cornwall.

"Only because you're holding me back," Cornwall protested, "If I didn't have you I could do a lot of things."

A bubble formed from the lava pit and it splits into two which contained Devon and Cornwall separately in each bubble. Once the bubbles moved out of the way, a dinosaur skeleton appeared. Cornwall used its ribcage as a xylophone and started singing.

_I'd be rockin' with the Dinos_

Cornwall grabbed the skeleton which became a rhino.

_Swingin' with the Rhinos_

_I could dragonize this cave in a minute!_

The scene transformed into a cave styled living room with a lava lamp, a chair and a television with Devon's head inside, Cornwall turned off the TV.

_CORNWALL!_

_They would sing cuz I would be the dragon king_

Devon grabbed hold of Cornwall and held him up high on Pride Rock, parodying the scene from Disney's The Lion King, then dropped him back to his chair where a dartboard with Devon's head is seen in front of it.

_I would love this world without you in it!_

Cornwall threw the dart at Devon's head, transitioned the scene to a Lava Lamp.

_If I didn't have you!_

"_If you didn't have me_." Devon sang when his head appeared inside the Lava lamp.

_If I didn't have you!_

Cornwall turned to the volcano pit that erupted a dish. He opened the dish cover to reveal Devon's head.

"_Or how about if I didn't have you, huh?_" Devon asked before Cornwall shoved an apple into his mouth, the scene zoomed into the apple, transitioning it to another scene where it showed Devon and Cornwall as their separate selves.

_Oh what I could be if there was only me_

_Oh what I'd do if I didn't have you_

"Stop bickering and get your act together!" Kayley said as she appeared as a silhouette.

"_Act? Did someone say "Act"?_ _I can act!_"Devon sang.

They collided together, transitioning to a spotlight scene where Devon and Cornwall are acting with Devon dressed in a kimono from "The Mikado" and Cornwall as "The Phantom of the Opera".

_If only I had separate parts_

_My career, would be the arts_

Devon bonked Cornwall on the head with his fan, and the scene blew up, transitioning to Devon with a sculpture of Cornwall in a Venus de milo cracked the sculpture into bits with Cornwall's eyes popping out and blinking. Then he turned into a silhouette with a model of a castle.

_I'd be the star of Camelot!_

_You'll be half of the whole world forgot!_

_If I didn't have you!_

The castle was turned into a ball and it showed Devon holding Cornwall's head and he hurled it into the air.

"_I should be so lucky!_" Cornwall mocked as he landed next to Devon's head and Devon zipped Cornwall back on the body.

"_If I didn't have you!_" Devon sang.

"_Oh wait! You'll be dead!_" Cornwall declared, he grinned briefly, then frowned.

Then the two sang together.

_Oh, what I could be if there was only me!_

_Oh, what I'd do if I didn't have you!_

_Oh, what I'd do if I didn't have you!_

Cornwall pulled the projector screen down to reveal Cornwall, wearing a hockey's mask and wielding a chainsaw at Devon who tried to avoid it, the chainsaw sliced the screen, transitioning to a log scene with Devon reading his book with a lamp at the side, and Cornwall tied down about to be sliced in half by a wood cutting blade. Then the scene faded to a shot of a boulder rolling down a curved slope with Devon's head laid down on it, about to be flattened.

"_Trapped! Ah! Trapped!_" Devon yelped as the scene zoomed onto the boulder as Devon and Cornwall appeared in view in the same color as the boulder.

"_Stuck here with you for 500 years!_" Cornwall whined as he facepalmed.

"_Oh dear, it's learned to count_." Devon stated as he counted with his fingers and poked Cornwall in the eye, and it all goes black. It transitioned to a scene where Cornwall is on trial.

"_If you have gotten a good lawyer, I would've split 400 years ago!_" Cornwall defended.

"_Now listen here pal! I don't come here to be insulted!_" Devon rebuked, appeared as a judge. Then lightning strikes Cornwall. After the strike, Devon and Cornwall are their normal selves.

"_Oh. Where do you usually go?_" Cornwall asked.

"_I'll be a fire-breathing lizard!_" Devon boasted.

Devon morphed into Godzilla and breathed fire at flame transitioned to Devon and Cornwall as a blue colored inflatable.

"_I'll be one high flying wizard!_" Cornwall proclaimed as he released the air from their inflatable body and flew all over the place.

"_You'll be nothing without me, you be extinct! You cease to be!_" Devon declared as he drilled on the cliff where Cornwall stood on which made him fall into the canyon in style of the Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner cartoon.

"_I'm so tired of your nagging._" Cornwall nagged.

"_And I'm so tired of your bragging._" Devon ranted.

"_Ha, ha. Without me, you'll have no brains!_" Cornwall scoffed, pointing at Devon who then stuck his glove covered hand into Cornwall's ear, and then back out, leaving Cornwall stunned.

"_With wish to be!_" Both dragons sang.

_I'd be rocking with the dinos _

_If only I had separate parts_

_Swinging with the rhinos_

_I'd de-dragonize this cave in a minute _

_My career would be the arts_

_Cornwall, they would sing _

_I'd be the star of Camelot_

_'Cause I would be the dragon king_

The scene then zoomed into Cornwall's ear. Inside, Cornwall ran up and flirted with Red Hot Riding Hood until she morphed into Devon, then he ran into the screen which transitioned to Devon looking at the mirror, until the mirror image morphed into Cornwall. Devon grabbed hold of him and made him into an egg and bounced him off-screen.

_I would love this world without you in it! If I didn't have you!_

The egg bounced into a cave scenery where it hatched into a baby Devon and another egg bounced in and hatched into a baby Cornwall. Devon shoved the half of the eggshell onto Cornwall's head, prompting him to fight.

_If I didn't have you._

_If I didn't have you!_

_If I didn't have you._

_Yeah! Yeah, Yeah!_

As baby Devon and Cornwall fight their way off-screen, three eggs danced in, until a cane hooked them away. Devon and Cornwall walked in from the side.

"_This way, Let me lead._" Devon professed.

Devon tried to dance until Cornwall lifted him up.

"_No, this way, twinkle toes!_" Cornwall corrected rudely.

_Life could be so sweet _

_If these were both my feet!_

_What I'd do _

_If I didn't have you!_

The two fell towards the screen and transformed themselves into an Picasso-stylized, stained glass window figures. Then they pulled back from the camera and they popped out, dressed like Sonny and Cher.

"_I'd got you babe!_" Devon sang in his impression of Sonny Brow.

_Oh what I'd do, If I didn't have yooouuuuu!_

Steam came up from the bottom of the screen, engulfed it. It transitioned to a spotlight stage scenery with Devon and Cornwall, dressed like Elvis Presley and with their back turned.

_Ohhhhhhhhh,_

_Well If I didn't,_

They turned around and sang together.

_Oh If I didn't…. _

_Have, yooouuuuu!_

They jumped up and landed in a thank you pose, and in the voice impression of Elvis.

_Thank you. Thank you, very much._

"_Devon's left the building_." Devon sang in Elvis's voice.

"_Hey, you never sang this before, have ya?_" Cornwall asked in Elvis's voice.

Devon socked Cornwall in the face which ended the song. The scenery faded back to the cave. The scene turned to the right to see the sisters and the dragon riders clapping.

"Come on Garrett." Kayley said as she and the others walked down into the cave.

"You don't need him, honey. Now you got Cornwall, keeping an eye on ya." Cornwall assured her, smugly.

Garrett followed behind the group with an annoyed look on his face. Ayden followed after him.

* * *

_Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do. _\- Isaac Asimov


	28. Dragon Country

Chapter 28: Dragon Country

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

Garrett led the group out of the wooded area of the forest and entered a clearing. Unaware that Ruber and some of his ironmen were watching them. As Garrett, the sisters, and the riders walked further, they noticed a few dead trees and there was some kind of fog up ahead of them. Then the group saw Garrett sniffing the air.

"Have you got a cold?" Kayley asked.

"Shh!" Garrett shushed. Ayden lands on a dead tree stump, which suddenly collapsed in smithereens.

"What is it?" Audrey asked as Ayden perched on another stump.

"We're in Dragon Country." Garrett answered.

"Oh," Kayley sniffed the air, "Right."

Soon enough the group was walking through the terrain of the Dragon Country. Hiccup found it strange that they didn't seem to find any dragons roaming around anywhere.

"Are you sure that this is Dragon Country?" Audrey asked as they climbed through a dragon skeleton which acted as a bridge, "Shouldn't there be a sign or something?"

"Hey, it could say "Welcome to Dragon Country"!" Kayley suggested as they entered a gorge that was filled with dragon skeletons and carcasses, eggs, pits of lava, and geysers. Kayley looked around, "You don't think we see any, do you? Is there a group of dragons a pack or a flock? Is it a gaggle or a pride? Is it a herd?"

"Quiet!" Garrett shushed with his hand out suddenly.

"Do you hear something?" Kayley and Audrey asked.

"No," Garrett pulled his hand back and turned slightly, "I just wanted you to be quiet."

"He's right, you know." Hiccup pointed out, "We don't want to get unwanted attention."

Kayley and Audrey grunted in anger as they walked behind Garret along with the others. The sisters couldn't believe that everyone would side with the blind man. Suddenly, a steaming boulder fell right in front of Kayley's feet. Kayley gasped as she and Audrey stepped back in order from getting hit by the boulder. Carlos and Merida turned towards the sisters and saw the boulder at Kayley's feet. They looked up to see what has caused it, there were some familiar shapes that might be a dragon, they looked around cautiously while slowly backing away from each other, until Kayley's right foot stepped on an egg. She turned and pulled out her foot that was covered with green slime. Meanwhile, Garrett and Hiccup walked around, unaware of what's going on, they continued to venture downward. Kayley then managed to shake the slime off her foot. Then the group heard some growling noises, making them look around, Garrett and Hiccup were nowhere in sight.

"Garrett! Hiccup! Where are you?!" Kayley shouted when she and the others saw a shadow of a dragon and ran to find some cover. They gathered at the center of the eggs, but with their backs turned, two pairs of hands reached out and pulled the others in the eggshell. It was Garrett and Hiccup, he shushed them, and then they slowly looked out of the eggshell to see if anything is all right. Kayley and Audrey spotted a shadow of a two headed dragon on the wall and gasped.

"Dragons!" Audrey gasped.

"Where? I don't see any dragons!" A male voice said.

Kayley and Audrey knew that the shadow had spoken and turned around to see a tall dragon's head and a short dragon's head, the two girls screamed then fell backwards, breaking the eggshell that they're in. The tall head screamed as he lowered himself back inside the other half of the shell.

"But, _you're_ dragons." Kayley pointed out, confused.

"Oh heavens! Someone's found our hiding place!" The first male voice said, slightly scared.

"Shut up, cricket ball! Let me handle this. We are dragons! Ferocious hungry dragons! So go away before we eat you!" The second male voice warned, trying to be intimidating.

The group looked at each other with confusion. Then the second voice made a shadow puppet on the wall, depicting a monster's mouth which wasn't very effective.

"Oh, good show Corny, That is clever. Here, let me have a go." The first male voice said sarcastically as he tapped the second male voice's hand and then made a shadow puppet of a bunny while he hummed.

"Oh great! The bunny of death," The second male voice mocked before he grabbed the other hand and then they start fighting, "They're always cringing in fear."

As they were fighting, Garrett approached the eggshell and rapped his staff several times on it, making them stop what they were doing and raised their heads out of the eggshell.

"Please don't hurt us!" The tall headed dragon pleaded.

"And I thought you were ferocious dragons." Garrett commented, sarcastically.

"Well, not exactly. The real ferocious ones were the most fire breathing bullies out there." The short headed dragon said as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder, indicating the other dragons out there.

"Yes! They're always picking on us, calling us names, pushing us around! I hate them!" The tall head spat with scorn.

"Hey, hey! Easy with the stick buddy." The short head warned as he pushed away Garrett's staff from his body.

"What are you?" Garrett asked.

"Well, frankly we're the reason cousins shouldn't marry," The tall head said as they got up, they break down the eggshell which revealed that they're a conjoined twin dragon. Kayley and the others looked speechless at them, "Oh. Enchanté mademoiselles. I'm Devon, and this _growth_ on my neck is Cornwall."

"But you can call me, "Corny" for short." 'Cornwall' offered, wiggling his eyebrows, while holding Kayley's hand as she giggled when he said that.

"Yes, short on wits, manners, and charm. Everything I hold dear." Devon commented, placing his hand on his chest.

At that comment, Cornwall grabbed Devon's snout and plugged his nostrils.

"How 'bout holding ya' breath?" Cornwall suggested, rudely.

"Come on, everyone. Let's go." Garrett ordered.

Then the group turned around and followed Garrett. Cornwall and Devon noticed that they were leaving them.

"Hey, hey! Where are you going?" Cornwall asked as he let go of Devon's snout.

"To save Camelot!" Kayley and Audrey said.

"Camelot! The restaurants, the theaters!" Devon listed off, beamed.

"The waitresses, the actresses." Cornwall continued the list, grinning.

"The dragons." Devon added.

After they have said that word, they heard a dragon roaring nearby.

"The dragons?!" Devon and Cornwall exclaimed with panic.

Suddenly, Kayley and the others spotted something and they started running. The creature revealed itself to be a gigantic, fire-breathing dragon. A very unfriendly one at that. It blasted fire right on Devon and Cornwall's rear end, causing them to shout in pain. As the two run off, they get blasted a few more times. When they caught up with the others, Kayley saw a lake of green liquid with floating dragon eggs.

"Wait! What is it?" Kayley asked.

"Don't worry. It's perfectly safe." Devon said as he and Cornwall crossed the lake by hopping on the floating eggs.

The others stopped at the edge of the lake. Garrett poked his staff in the lake, which burned the staff's tip which meant that the green liquid was acid.

"Hmmm. Safe?" Garrett asked as he broke off the charred part of his staff as Kayley pulled him to get themselves to the other side and the others followed.

"**Doesn't look safe to me.**" Sharpshot said.

Devon and Cornwall jumped onto two eggs and nearly lose their balance.

"As long as you don't step in it." Cornwall warned.

Kayley and the others began jumping onto the eggs to get to the other side. However Garrett was the last one to cross. Once the others got to the other side with the two dragons, Garrett carefully crossed the acid lake with Ayden helping him. Suddenly, the dragon reappeared with a comrade as they both fly toward the heroes.

"Ayden!" Garrett yelped as he nearly slipped, but with Ayden's help, hopped to another egg.

"Garrett, hurry!" Kayley pleaded.

"You think this is easy?" Garrett retorted as he gestured to the lake of acid while standing on the egg.

As he jumped to another egg, another dragon emerged from the acid waterfall and breathed fire. It leapt and caused a tidal wave of acid, allowing Garrett to get to the other side. As Kayley and Hiccup get Garrett back on his feet, the third dragon emerged from the acid lake with its two comrades. As the three dragons chased the heroes, they breathed fire on the trail, which explosively blew up parts of the ground, but they managed to jump away from the fiery breaths.

"Yikes! It's another dragon!" Cornwall panicked when he spotted a winged creature in the fog.

But Kayley, Audrey, and the riders knew what it really was.

"That's not a dragon!" Hiccup said.

"It's a griffin!" Kayley corrected as the fog cleared and the said winged creature revealed himself while at the same time Ruber and three of his minions emerged from the fog.

"And Ruber!" Audrey gasped.

"They've found us!" Merida said, seeing their enemies closing in on them.

"Down here!" Cornwall directed as he and Devon jumped into a hole that was big enough for them to fall into.

Kayley, Garrett, and the others followed them. As Ruber and his minions stopped to see them gone, Ruber looks around and saw the dragons approaching. They landed wildly on their feet as they roared at them. Ruber and his minions prepared for combat. One dragon spotted Ruber, who threw his sword aside and slowly and calmly backed up against the wall and remained still with a glare on his face. The dragon approached him, it opened its mouth to reveal its sharp teeth and green saliva. Ruber rolled his eyes in annoyance and disgust, knowing that the dragon was wasting his time and violently punched the dragon very hard, causing it to breathe fire in pain.

* * *

Meanwhile Kayley, Audrey, Garrett, the riders and the two headed dragon were sliding down the hole. Devon and Cornwall got out first, but they accidentally landed on a sharp stalactite which caused them to yelp in pain. Ayden, Sharpshot, and Kayley get out soon after Devon and Cornwall, she started to get up, but Garrett along with everyone else fell on her and rolled away from each other.

"Are you sure we're safe down here?" Audrey asked as everyone was getting to their feet.

"It's a lot safer down here than it is up there." Cornwall said as he pulled the stalactite off of their rear end.

"We know all the best escape routes." Devon informed.

"We've been dodging those bullies since we were 200 years old." Cornwall added as he threw the stalactite away, which hit Garrett by accident, knocking him down.

"Were we ever that young?" Devon asked, dramatically.

"Of course we were, you moron!" Cornwall insulted.

"I'm not a moron!" Devon defended.

"Yes, you are!" Cornwall declared.

"No, I'm NOT!" Devon protested loudly.

"With all that bickering, I'm surprised that you haven't fried each other yet." Garrett commented as Hiccup and Carlos helped him up.

"_Fry_? We can't even simmer." Devon admitted and tried to breathe fire, only to coughed out a puff of smoke.

"Yeah, you see. Unlike most dragons he can't breathe fire or fly," Cornwall complained as they turned around and showed their wings which flapped for a second, "Sad really."

"Oh excusez-moi, Mr. Self-Denial. But _we _can't breathe fire or fly." Devon corrected Cornwall.

"Only because you're holding me back," Cornwall protested, "If I didn't have you I could do a lot of things."

A bubble formed from the lava pit and it splits into two which contained Devon and Cornwall separately in each bubble. Once the bubbles moved out of the way, a dinosaur skeleton appeared. Cornwall used its ribcage as a xylophone and started singing.

_I'd be rockin' with the Dinos_

Cornwall grabbed the skeleton which became a rhino.

_Swingin' with the Rhinos_

_I could dragonize this cave in a minute!_

The scene transformed into a cave styled living room with a lava lamp, a chair and a television with Devon's head inside, Cornwall turned off the TV.

_CORNWALL!_

_They would sing cuz I would be the dragon king_

Devon grabbed hold of Cornwall and held him up high on Pride Rock, parodying the scene from Disney's The Lion King, then dropped him back to his chair where a dartboard with Devon's head is seen in front of it.

_I would love this world without you in it!_

Cornwall threw the dart at Devon's head, transitioned the scene to a Lava Lamp.

_If I didn't have you!_

"_If you didn't have me_." Devon sang when his head appeared inside the Lava lamp.

_If I didn't have you!_

Cornwall turned to the volcano pit that erupted a dish. He opened the dish cover to reveal Devon's head.

"_Or how about if I didn't have you, huh?_" Devon asked before Cornwall shoved an apple into his mouth, the scene zoomed into the apple, transitioning it to another scene where it showed Devon and Cornwall as their separate selves.

_Oh what I could be if there was only me_

_Oh what I'd do if I didn't have you_

"Stop bickering and get your act together!" Kayley said as she appeared as a silhouette.

"_Act? Did someone say "Act"?_ _I can act!_"Devon sang.

They collided together, transitioning to a spotlight scene where Devon and Cornwall are acting with Devon dressed in a kimono from "The Mikado" and Cornwall as "The Phantom of the Opera".

_If only I had separate parts_

_My career, would be the arts_

Devon bonked Cornwall on the head with his fan, and the scene blew up, transitioning to Devon with a sculpture of Cornwall in a Venus de milo cracked the sculpture into bits with Cornwall's eyes popping out and blinking. Then he turned into a silhouette with a model of a castle.

_I'd be the star of Camelot!_

_You'll be half of the whole world forgot!_

_If I didn't have you!_

The castle was turned into a ball and it showed Devon holding Cornwall's head and he hurled it into the air.

"_I should be so lucky!_" Cornwall mocked as he landed next to Devon's head and Devon zipped Cornwall back on the body.

"_If I didn't have you!_" Devon sang.

"_Oh wait! You'll be dead!_" Cornwall declared, he grinned briefly, then frowned.

Then the two sang together.

_Oh, what I could be if there was only me!_

_Oh, what I'd do if I didn't have you!_

_Oh, what I'd do if I didn't have you!_

Cornwall pulled the projector screen down to reveal Cornwall, wearing a hockey's mask and wielding a chainsaw at Devon who tried to avoid it, the chainsaw sliced the screen, transitioning to a log scene with Devon reading his book with a lamp at the side, and Cornwall tied down about to be sliced in half by a wood cutting blade. Then the scene faded to a shot of a boulder rolling down a curved slope with Devon's head laid down on it, about to be flattened.

"_Trapped! Ah! Trapped!_" Devon yelped as the scene zoomed onto the boulder as Devon and Cornwall appeared in view in the same color as the boulder.

"_Stuck here with you for 500 years!_" Cornwall whined as he facepalmed.

"_Oh dear, it's learned to count_." Devon stated as he counted with his fingers and poked Cornwall in the eye, and it all goes black. It transitioned to a scene where Cornwall is on trial.

"_If you have gotten a good lawyer, I would've split 400 years ago!_" Cornwall defended.

"_Now listen here pal! I don't come here to be insulted!_" Devon rebuked, appeared as a judge. Then lightning strikes Cornwall. After the strike, Devon and Cornwall are their normal selves.

"_Oh. Where do you usually go?_" Cornwall asked.

"_I'll be a fire-breathing lizard!_" Devon boasted.

Devon morphed into Godzilla and breathed fire at flame transitioned to Devon and Cornwall as a blue colored inflatable.

"_I'll be one high flying wizard!_" Cornwall proclaimed as he released the air from their inflatable body and flew all over the place.

"_You'll be nothing without me, you be extinct! You cease to be!_" Devon declared as he drilled on the cliff where Cornwall stood on which made him fall into the canyon in style of the Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner cartoon.

"_I'm so tired of your nagging._" Cornwall nagged.

"_And I'm so tired of your bragging._" Devon ranted.

"_Ha, ha. Without me, you'll have no brains!_" Cornwall scoffed, pointing at Devon who then stuck his glove covered hand into Cornwall's ear, and then back out, leaving Cornwall stunned.

"_With wish to be!_" Both dragons sang.

_I'd be rocking with the dinos _

_If only I had separate parts_

_Swinging with the rhinos_

_I'd de-dragonize this cave in a minute _

_My career would be the arts_

_Cornwall, they would sing _

_I'd be the star of Camelot_

_'Cause I would be the dragon king_

The scene then zoomed into Cornwall's ear. Inside, Cornwall ran up and flirted with Red Hot Riding Hood until she morphed into Devon, then he ran into the screen which transitioned to Devon looking at the mirror, until the mirror image morphed into Cornwall. Devon grabbed hold of him and made him into an egg and bounced him off-screen.

_I would love this world without you in it! If I didn't have you!_

The egg bounced into a cave scenery where it hatched into a baby Devon and another egg bounced in and hatched into a baby Cornwall. Devon shoved the half of the eggshell onto Cornwall's head, prompting him to fight.

_If I didn't have you._

_If I didn't have you!_

_If I didn't have you._

_Yeah! Yeah, Yeah!_

As baby Devon and Cornwall fight their way off-screen, three eggs danced in, until a cane hooked them away. Devon and Cornwall walked in from the side.

"_This way, Let me lead._" Devon professed.

Devon tried to dance until Cornwall lifted him up.

"_No, this way, twinkle toes!_" Cornwall corrected rudely.

_Life could be so sweet _

_If these were both my feet!_

_What I'd do _

_If I didn't have you!_

The two fell towards the screen and transformed themselves into an Picasso-stylized, stained glass window figures. Then they pulled back from the camera and they popped out, dressed like Sonny and Cher.

"_I'd got you babe!_" Devon sang in his impression of Sonny Brow.

_Oh what I'd do, If I didn't have yooouuuuu!_

Steam came up from the bottom of the screen, engulfed it. It transitioned to a spotlight stage scenery with Devon and Cornwall, dressed like Elvis Presley and with their back turned.

_Ohhhhhhhhh,_

_Well If I didn't,_

They turned around and sang together.

_Oh If I didn't…. _

_Have, yooouuuuu!_

They jumped up and landed in a thank you pose, and in the voice impression of Elvis.

_Thank you. Thank you, very much._

"_Devon's left the building_." Devon sang in Elvis's voice.

"_Hey, you never sang this before, have ya?_" Cornwall asked in Elvis's voice.

Devon socked Cornwall in the face which ended the song. The scenery faded back to the cave. The scene turned to the right to see the sisters and the dragon riders clapping.

"Come on Garrett." Kayley said as she and the others walked down into the cave.

"You don't need him, honey. Now you got Cornwall, keeping an eye on ya." Cornwall assured her, smugly.

Garrett followed behind the group with an annoyed look on his face. Ayden followed after him.

* * *

_Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do. _\- Isaac Asimov


	29. Worthy

Chapter 29: Worthy

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

The group exited out of the cave that lead them to a more open space with more trees and clear sky ahead. Ayden and Sharpshot flew out in view. Garrett stopped at a stone ledge in front of him.

"Well, the good news is, we're out of Dragon Country. The _better_ news is," Garrett informed the others as he held his staff in position, "This is where we say goodbye."

"You can't leave us here! If we try to go back, we'll be banished! Ostracized. Exiled…" Devon complained, dramatically as they turned around, about to head back.

"Not to mention kicked out." Cornwall added while kicking his leg up.

"Why?" Kayley asked.

"We just broke the dragons' cardinal rule!" Cornwall replied.

"What, never wear brown shoes with the blue suit?" Devon pondered.

Cornwall grabbed Devon's snout.

"No, you moron. Never help a human." Cornwall corrected him as he turned to the humans with a long face.

Ayden and Sharpshot flew in chirping at the group.

"Come on, everyone. We must make camp before dark." Garrett insisted.

"Camp?" Devon inquired himself and Cornwall.

"Garrett. Let's take them with us. Please." Kayley begged.

"Oh, I suppose so. But no more singing!" Garrett ordered.

Then they make their way down the path leading to another part of the forest.

"How about interpretive dance?" Devon asked as he and Cornwall gestured while standing on one foot with the right leg and arms spread out.

Kayley and the others looked at the dragons and giggled as Garrett sighed in annoyance.

* * *

It almost sundown as the group was walking through the forest.

"I'm starving, all these heroics worked up my appetite!" Cornwall complained before he sniffed a smell drifting in the air, "Hey. Something smells delicious!"

"Ooh, yes. I could whip for a little something." Devon offered.

"Well, here's where we stop." Garrett said as he stopped in front of the others.

"Stop?" Audrey asked.

"But what about Excalibur?" Kayley asked.

"Can't we go any further, Garrett?" Hiccup asked.

"No one travels through the Forbidden Forest after dark." Garrett stated.

"Well, our father, Sir Lionel, would have." Kayley and Audrey declared.

Garrett stopped in his tracks, shocked, after hearing the mention of Kayley and Audrey's father. Meanwhile, Devon and Cornwall, tried to make fire out of twigs.

"C'mon, baby, C'mon! Light my fire!" Devon prayed.

"You know, there's nothing more pathetic than a flame retardant dragon." Devon said as he took the twig from Cornwall's hand and tried rubbing the twig against the twigs.

"Hey, Devon! You blew fire!" Cornwall taunted as he pointed at the pile of twigs as Devon looked up and then down at the pile. Cornwall shook his head and hand, "No, no. My mistake, just hot-air!"

Before Devon could hit Cornwall with the twig, it came alive and started running off, the other twigs, did the same. Devon and Cornwall looked at each other, confused and curious, before they start to chase after them.

"Kayley, Audrey, I must tell you. I knew your father." Garrett said, kneeling a small ledge across from the group.

"You did?" Kayley and Audrey asked, surprised.

"I used to live in Camelot, but I dreamt of becoming a knight," Garrett remembered, looking at the sunset, "One evening, there was a fire. I rushed to save all the horses but, well…I was hurt. But first, all I could see was shapes, then shadows. And finally, my world went black," Garrett paused, "After I lost my sight, your father was the only one who still believed in me. He told me that a knight's strength, comes from a heart with his loyalty to the oath of Camelot," Garrett continued, "Any hope I had of becoming a knight, died with him." Garrett concluded sadly as he began to walk away.

"Audrey and I felt that way too, but we knew he wouldn't want us to give up. He wouldn't want you to give up either. You are good as any other knight in Camelot." Kayley assured him as he stopped in his steps.

"You really think so?" Garrett asked, turning towards her.

Kayley reassured him with a smile, even though he couldn't see it. But he could sense it in a way. Meanwhile Devon and Cornwall were chasing after a walking twig from earlier.

"Hey stick! Come back, come back stick!" Cornwall pleaded, still chasing the twig. But then stopped when he heard Ayden laughing at them after losing the twig. He walked up to the falcon and held up three of his fingers, "I got three words for you birdie: "Dinner is served".

Hiccup, Carlos, Sharpshot, Merida, and Audrey watched with disbelief when Cornwall grabbed and shoved Ayden into his mouth and swallowed him without hesitation. But then Ayden popped out of Devon's mouth and flew away, unharmed, from the two headed dragon.

"That was just plain weird." Audrey commented.

"I'll say." Merida agreed.

"Why did Cornwall think that Ayden would fill his stomach?" Carlos added.

"How did Ayden know how to get out is the question?" Hiccup wondered.

"No idea." Audrey shrugged.

"For some strange reason, they remind me of a Hideous Zippleback." Hiccup commented.

"That's a two headed dragon, right?" Carlos asked.

"Yeah, except these two seem to be bickering all the time while the original always agrees with the other when it comes to pranks or food." Hiccup pointed out.

"Except these two are these exact opposite." Merida commented.

"**So very true**." Sharpshot added.

Garrett gave some leaves to Audrey and the others. They all layed down the leaves to make makeshift beds. Ayden landed on the branch next to Kayley. She stroked his feather

"And how did you find Ayden?" Kayley asked.

"I didn't. When I came to live here, Ayden found me. He just appeared one day, as if destiny is watching over me. He taught me all the secrets of the forest. What can hurt you, and what can heal you," Garrett paused as he plucked a purple flower and Ayden flew around and landed on his staff, "With Ayden as my eyes, I can survive anything. Look, I'll show you."

Kayley and the others walked over to a tree and decided to watch as Garrett got in front of a sleeping plant and got into a position.

"I take my position, faced my fears," Garrett directed as he walked towards the plant and poked it which caused it to open and revealed its tongue with a red bulb on the end, "And hold my ground, until the last, possible, moment, waiting for Ayden's signal," Ayden chirped the signal, and Garrett moved at the right time as the tongue swung out towards him, "to evade!" He whacked the tongue on the tip with his staff which made it dizzy, "See. Simple, now you try." He handed Kayley his staff.

"All right. No problem." Kayley said when she caught his staff.

"Take your position." Garrett instructed as he went over to Kayley and helped her get into position.

"Take my position." Kayley obeyed as she got into position.

"Face your fears." Garrett repeated.

"Face my fears." Kayley repeated.

The plant regained consciousness and shook its head, getting rid of the dizziness.

"And hold your ground, until the last possible moment." Garrett told her as he stepped away while Kayley was getting ready to hit the plant.

The plant swung its tongue at Kayley, who tried to knock it out, but missed and the tongue hit her in the stomach, knocking her backwards into Garrett's arms. Ayden chirped.

"Well, you moved too soon." Garrett commented with a slight smile as he stared out in blank space.

"Uh huh." Kayley said, looking up at Garrett.

Garrett smiled as Kayley slightly looked away as she smiled. Audrey glanced at the riders and they covered their mouths as they quietly giggled. They could easily tell that the two in front of them were gaining feelings towards each other. At that moment, Devon and Cornwall returned to the campsite.

"Mind your backs!" Devon ordered.

"Coming through." Cornwall commanded.

"Stand clear!" Devon instructed as he and Cornwall walked in between Kayley and Garrett.

"Nice try, buddy." Cornwall teased as he lightly elbowed Garrett.

"I say Kayley, Do you have a light?" Devon inquired as he turned to Kayley.

"Sharpshot can light up the fire." Hiccup offered.

"What do you mean?" Devon asked, turning to Hiccup.

"Sharpshot is a dragon." Hiccup pointed out as he gestured to Sharpshot on his shoulder.

"Oh, I thought that all this time he was just a winged pipsqueak." Cornwall scoffed with sarcasm.

Once Cornwall said that, Sharpshot leaped out at Cornwall and bit him hard on his snout.

"OW! OW! Get this pipsqueak off of me!" Cornwall shouted as he tried to pull Sharpshot off of his snout. Devon was trying as well.

"Should we help him?" Audrey asked.

"No way, this is free entertainment." Merida grinned.

* * *

It was later that night, everyone was sitting around the campfire. Carlos handed out pieces of bread for everyone. They hoped that they'll be able to find Excalibur soon before Ruber finds it and reaches Camelot before them.

"Thanks for telling me about that flower, Garrett." Audrey thanked Garrett.

"You're welcome, but why do you want it?" Garrett asked.

"Audrey is hoping to becoming a traveling healer. So she's collecting any kind of plant that can help heal a person." Kayley explained, smiling at her younger sister.

"Interesting. Where do you come from, Hiccup?" Garrett asked.

"The Barbaric Archipelago. On an island called Berk." Hiccup replied.

"Really? I've heard that the Vikings were at war with the dragons that are living around there." Garrett stated.

"Oh, we were. But I managed to end it without anyone knowing the truth behind it." Hiccup said.

"The truth?" Cornwall asked.

"As it turned out, a dragon the size of a mountain was controlling the dragons. She was ordering them to gather food for her. But if they didn't bring enough, she would eat them." Hiccup explained.

Devon and Cornwall gasped at that. They didn't think that there were dragons out there that would do such a thing to other dragons. Not to mention that there were dragons in many shapes and sizes as well. Seeing the uncomfortable silence, Devon cleared his throat.

"By the way, Hiccup, why were you named 'Hiccup'?" Devon asked, curious.

"In the Viking tradition, the runt of the litter is named "Hiccup", human or animal." Hiccup explained. He never liked talking about why he was named "Hiccup". It only brought up bad memories of when he lived on Berk.

"A stupid tradition if you ask me." Cornwall commented.

"I would've been dead otherwise." Hiccup stated.

"What do you mean?" Cornwall questioned.

"I would've been left in the mountains to die or worse, drowned." Hiccup said.

"WHAT?!" Devon, Merida, Audrey, and Kayley shrieked.

"Why would they do such a thing like that?!" Kayley shouted angrily.

"To get rid of the weak and to keep a family's pride intact." Hiccup pointed out with scorn, "So if my father wasn't so desperate to have an heir, I would have been dead."

"I'm sorry, Hiccup." Audrey apologized.

"It's okay. The other reason he kept me around was because I was the only thing left of my mother." Hiccup stated.

"I thought you said that your mother is alive, Hiccup." Audrey pondered.

"She is. But when I was a baby, she was taken by a dragon. The tribe assumed that she was eaten by it. However, she became friends with the dragon and didn't want to go back to the village." Hiccup said.

"How come?" Garrett asked.

"Mostly because of her belief. She knew that dragons aren't vicious creatures and that peace was possible. But it was a very unpopular belief in a place of 'kill or be killed'." Hiccup replied.

"Your mother sounds like quite a compassionate woman since she has such a positive view on us dragons." Devon said.

"Thank you, Devon. I wish that my mother could be able to meet you." Hiccup said.

"By the way, how did you reunite with your mother anyway?" Cornwall asked.

Hiccup soon retold the tale of his village, his father, Gobber the blacksmith, Gothi the village healer, his bullies, how he met Toothless, and bonded with him. He went on about how he was forced into dragon training and how he got so good at it. Then he explained the reason why he left Berk.

"Don't you miss Berk some of the time?" Garrett asked.

"The only things I miss about that place is Gobber and Gothi. Everyone else, no one bit." Hiccup spat.

"I don't understand why they would treat you so bad because you were different." Audrey commented.

"Everyone there favored brawns over brains. Hiccups don't really survive long from where I come from. If my father wasn't the chief, I would've been thrown out of the village because of the many messes that I've caused." Hiccup said.

"But at least you had two people there who cared very much about you, Hiccup." Carlos reassured him as he placed his hand on his shoulder.

"**We all care about you**." Sharpshot warbled, nuzzling Hiccup's cheek.

Hiccup smiled at that and scratched underneath Sharpshot's chin which caused him to purr with satisfaction. The Terrible Terror was right. He left Berk and had many friends that he made throughout his journey so far. Suddenly, Sharpshot perked up and started gazing all around.

"Sharpshot, what is it?" Hiccup asked.

"**I smell a dragon nearby.**" Sharpshot warbled.

"Are you sure?" Hiccup asked.

"**Positive.**" Sharpshot confirmed.

"What did he say, Hiccup?" Carlos asked.

"He said there's a dragon nearby." Hiccup translated.

"Really? Where?" Audrey questioned.

"**This way.**" Sharpshot said as he flew off Hiccup's shoulder and hovered over at the direction he was staring at.

Hiccup and the others stood up and followed after the little dragon. The forest was still a little bit dark after they followed the dragon. Hiccup took out inferno and lite the sword up, lighting the way for them.

"**There.**" Sharpshot said, stopping near a tree.

They all slightly peeked around the corner and saw a dragon who seem to be wrapped around in vines and a boulder on its tail and wings, looking defeated. Almost like it gave up on trying to get itself free. The dragon in the vines reminded him of a bug stuck in a spider web. The dragon seemed to be the same size as Toothless. It had a horn on snout, silvery colored scales, and blue eyes. Hiccup pondered on what kind of dragon it was until he remembered a certain island he visited with his mother that had these dragons raised there.

"What kind of dragon is that?" Kayley asked.

"It's a Razorwhip." Hiccup answered.

"A Razor what?" Devon questioned.

"Razorwhip. I've never seen a full grown Razorwhip up close before." Hiccup said.

"It's trapped in those vines and boulders," Audrey said, "We have to help it."

Audrey got out behind the tree and went over to help the Razorwhip who soon noticed her when it heard her footsteps.

"Audrey, get back here!" Kayley whisper shouted.

"But it needs help." Audrey reasoned.

The others were a little bit worried on helping a dragon that considered very dangerous. However, Hiccup agreed with Audrey on helping the dragon. He never liked leaving a dragon who was in need of help. Hiccup and Sharpshot went out behind the tree and stood next Audrey.

"If you want to help, Audrey you have to do what I say, okay?" Hiccup requested.

"Okay." Audrey agreed.

When the three started walking towards the Razorwhip, it started to growl at them.

"**It's okay. We're here to help you free you.**" Hiccup soothed the dragon.

"**How is it possible that you can speak dragonese?**" The Razorwhip asked, surprised.

Judging by the voice, the Razorwhip was a female dragon. He wondered why this dragon was so far away from Wingmaiden island.

"**My dragon friends taught me.**" Hiccup replied.

"**You're friends with dragons?**" The female Razorwhip questioned, curious.

"**Yes, you could ask my friend, Sharpshot here.**" Hiccup said as he gestured to Sharpshot who was on his shoulder.

"**It's true, he's a one of a kind human who sympathizes with us dragons.**" Sharpshot complimented.

"**How do I know this isn't some kind of trick?**" The Razorwhip challenged, eyes narrowed.

"**You were raised with the Wingmaidens, weren't you?**" Hiccup asked.

"**How do you know about them?**" The Razorwhip queried.

"**I was there with my mother when we rescued a baby Razorwhip.**" Hiccup replied.

"**You were that boy who gave me that sea slug when I was weary of humans.**" The Razorwhip realized with wide eyes.

"**Yes, that was me.**" Hiccup smiled at the Razorwhip.

"**But where's that Night fury who's usually with you?**" The Razorwhip pondered.

"**How about I tell you when my friends and I free you?**" Hiccup suggested.

"**Alright.**"The Razorwhip accepted the suggestion.

"Now, let's get this boulder off first." Hiccup ordered.

Everyone came over and went behind the dragon to get the boulder that was on her tail. Hiccup and the others grabbed onto the boulder and with all their might, they were able to lift it off her tail.

"Okay, everyone move away from her tail," Hiccup instructed as everyone moved to the front of the dragon, "Could give us some of your tail barbs so that we can cut the vines off?"

"**Sure, no problem.**" The Razorwhip accepted as she raised her tail and whipped her tail towards the ground near a tree.

"Grab a barb and start cutting the vines." Hiccup commanded.

Everyone grabbed a barb, quickly trying to cut the vines. Kayley had to direct Garrett to where to cut the vines. They rapidly cut the vines and let them fall to the ground. Sharpshot aimed at the boulders on her wings and blasted them off. Once they were off, the Razorwhip lift her wings up, relieved to be finally free of the vines and boulders.

"Feel better?" Hiccup asked.

"**Yup.**" The Razorwhip said as she spread out her wings again, only to wince.

"What's wrong?" Hiccup asked, worried.

"**My wings, they feel sore.**" The Razorwhip said.

"How long were you trapped like that?" Hiccup questioned.

"**Maybe a day or two.**" The Razorwhip answered, sheepishly.

"Hiccup, she's hurt, isn't she?" Audrey asked.

"Apparently so." Hiccup replied.

Audrey went into her satchel and pulled out the purple leaves that Garrett gave to her. Then she walked over to the Razorwhip who slightly growled at her. Audrey stopped in steps when she heard the growl.

"Hiccup, how can I prove that I want to help her?" Audrey asked, looking over her shoulder to glance at Hiccup.

"Hold your hand out and look away," Hiccup instructed, "Let her come to you."

Audrey took a deep breath and let it out. She closed her eyes, held her open right palm out, and looked away. The Razorwhip stared at her palm. She could tell that the girl wanted to help her. In fact, she looked at the group behind the girl helped her remove the vines and the boulders. She supposed that some humans aren't so bad. Taking a risk, she leaned forward and pressed her snout against Audrey's palm. Audrey's eyes widened when she felt the dragon's snout in her palm. She turned to the dragon and saw its eyes closed. Audrey slowly petted the dragon's snout who purred at her touch. The Razorwhip had to admit that she enjoyed being petted by the girl.

"Audrey, you bonded with the Razorwhip!" Hiccup said.

"Yeah, I guess I did." Audrey said as her dragon nuzzled against her palms, "I need to put these on your wings to heal your pain. Will you let me do that?"

The Razorwhip nodded and spread her wings horizontally. Audrey walked over to her left wing and placed it when the wing is attached to her side. The leaf soon dissolved and evaporated magically. Then she did the same to the other wing. The Razorwhip purred happily once the pain was gone from her wings. She nuzzled against Audrey's shoulder who scratched underneath her chin, purring loudly at her touch. At that moment, Merida and Carlos yawned.

"We better get back to camp and get some sleep before we head out in the morning." Carlos suggested.

"Right." Hiccup agreed.

The group including the female Razorwhip headed back to their camp. Once they were there, Hiccup introduced everyone and explained what happened to Toothless and the other riders' dragons and the reason why they were in the forest. The Razorwhip felt sorry for all of the riders. She couldn't imagine the guilt they were going through.

"**Your dragons know that you'll free them.**" The Razorwhip comforted the riders.

"**Thank you.**" Hiccup thanked the Razorwhip.

"**By the way, what's it like having a dragon to ride?**" The Razorwhip asked.

"**From what Toothless said, it's an unexplainable connection that you have to experience for yourself.**" Sharpshot replied.

"**Then I would like to have a rider.**" The Razorwhip decided.

"**Really? Why?**" Hiccup asked.

"**When I first saw you and Toothless ride together, I wanted to find a rider. But the people of the Archipelago don't trust dragons except the Wingmaidens. Plus I wanted to see what was outside of the Archipelago and hoped to find a rider.**"

"**So who do want for a rider?**" Sharpshot asked.

"**I already chose one.**" The Razorwhip declared.

"**You did?**" Sharpshot asked.

"**Who** **you'd pick?**" Hiccup asked.

The Razorwhip got up beside Hiccup and walked over to Audrey and laid down beside her.

"**Audrey.**" The Razorwhip answered.

Hiccup and Sharpshot were surprised at her answer. They didn't think that the Razorwhip would be so taken easily with Audrey. The Wingmaidens had told him that Razorwhips have a hard time trusting someone they met. But once you have earned their trust, they are a reliable ally and friend.

"What did she say, Hiccup?" Merida asked when she noticed Hiccup's surprised face.

"Well, she wants Audrey as her rider." Hiccup answered.

"Really?" Audrey and Kayley questioned, surprised.

"Yeah, she really wants you." Hiccup stated, smiling.

Audrey turned to the female Razorwhip and placed her hand on her snout and began petting her which caused her to purr at Audrey's affection.

"What are you going to name her?" Carlos asked.

"Quicksilver." Audrey answered.

"**Quicksilver, huh?**" The Razorwhip pondered,"**I like it.**"

"She likes it." Hiccup said, smiling.

"Good, I think the name suits her." Audrey said.

"**It sure does.**" 'Quicksilver' agreed as she nuzzled Audrey's cheek.

* * *

_We deserve all our encounters, they are granted to our destiny and have a significance it behooves us to discover _\- Mauriac L


	30. Looking Through Your Eyes

Chapter 30: Looking Through Your Eyes

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

Morning had arrived for the heroes in the Forbidden Forest. Ayden was flying over the thorns, chirping.

"Ayden's spotted Excalibur!" Garrett informed everyone as Ayden chirped, "It must be near! Come on, let's go!"

Kayley and Garrett ran in joy along with the others and as soon as they arrive, Ayden brought down the belt from the sword and Kayley caught it.

"Look! This must be from Excalibur." Kayley said.

"But where's the sword?" Merida asked.

"Someone must have taken it." Garrett guessed as he examined a giant footprint with his stick.

"Or _something_." Hiccup added when everyone saw the giant footprint.

"Oh, We'll never find Excalibur in time!" Audrey complained.

"If we follow these tracks we'll-" Garrett began to say.

"Well, this is all your fault." Kayley accused.

"My fault?" Garrett asked.

"Yes. If we haven't stopped…" Kayley continued.

"Quiet." Garrett ordered.

"We should have kept going." Kayley insisted.

"Shh!" Garrett shushed as Ayden began chirping.

"We have to save our mother." Kayley concluded.

"Please, I need to hear." Garrett whispered.

Ayden and Sharpshot screeched and without warning, an arrow suddenly came out of nowhere and grazed Garrett on the side, causing him to groan in pain and fall to the ground.

"Garrett!" Everyone yelled in panic.

"Get them!" Ruber ordered as he and his ironmen charge towards our heroes.

"No!" Kayley shouted.

As Ruber approached Garrett, Ayden and Sharpshot flew in screeching and Garrett grabbed his staff and Quicksilver, with Audrey on her back, whipped her tail towards Ruber, knocking him into his henchmen. Kayley and Hiccup helped Garrett get to his feet and escorted to safety. A spike slinger thug, followed behind, cutting many vines. This woke up, the creatures, who whacked their hands to the ground, Devon and Cornwall along with the other riders to narrowly dodge them and continued to run to safety. Kayley and Hiccup turned around and saw Ruber running up with his sword, yelling, she and Hiccup lay Garrett onto Quicksilver's back, and she grabbed a vine before she hooped it onto one of the creature's arms. As Ruber and his henchmen are near the creature, Kayley pulled it, making the creature trap Ruber and his gang with his hand. Kayley and the others continue to escort Garrett to somewhere safe while Ruber and his men yell and scream.

"We're trapped!" A Mace-Wielding Thug shouted.

* * *

Meanwhile, at night where the wagons are containing Juliana is headed on its way on the main road to Camelot. Juliana stared out of the window towards the moon. She grew worried for her daughters and the dragon riders. She hoped that they will be able to find Excalibur and get to Camelot before her.

"My brave daughters, please be safe." Juliana prayed.

Bladebeak looked on sadly, then he jumped up in fright as he hears a growl, and Juliana turned around suddenly as one of Ruber's ironmen entered the wagon.

"Nobody can stop Ruber's plans to take over Camelot!" Spike-slinger thug boasted before he leaves.

"You don't know my daughters!" Juliana defended before she stared sadly out of the window again.

* * *

A few hours later, a storm came and rain poured down on our heroes. Kayley and Hiccup led the others to a nearby cave, they helped lift Garrett off Quicksilver's back and gently lay him down against a rock. Audrey took a leaf from the healing plant and handed it to Kayley who placed it against Garrett's wound.

"Please, don't die. We can't do this on our own." Kayley pleaded.

Devon, Cornwall, Quicksilver, and the riders watch sadly as Ayden and Sharpshot flew in. Sharpshot landed on Hiccup's right shoulder as he also gazed upon Garrett's injured state.

"I'm sorry. It's all my fault that you were hurt," Kayley apologized, "I was rambling on when I should have been quiet. I'm no help to anyone."

Garrett, after hearing this, turned his head around, and gently shushed her. Kayley turned around and held his hand.

"You were wrong." Garrett gently comforted her.

Kayley then broke down in tears, but Garrett wiped them away. Then Garrett began to sing.

_Look at the sky_

_Tell me what do you see?_

_Just close your eyes_

_And describe it to me_

_The heavens are sparkling_

_With starlight tonight_

_That's what I see_

_Through your eyes_

Kayley still held onto Garrett's hand as she gave a small smile towards Garrett. She also began to sing.

_I see the heavens_

_Each time that you smile_

_I hear your heartbeat_

_Just go on for miles_

_And suddenly I know_

_My life is worthwhile_

Garrett tried to get up, but couldn't do it. Then the leaf suddenly dissolved and evaporated magically into his wound, healing it and mending his tunic.

_That's what I see_

_Through your eyes_

Kayley then hugged Garrett in relief and he embraced her heartwarmingly. Devon then hugged Cornwall's head so much that he forced Devon to let go of him. Quicksilver, Sharpshot, and the riders smiled warmly at Kayley and Garrett.

_That's what I see_

_Through your eyes_

Kayley helped Garrett get to his feet with his stick and escorted him out of the cave. Then it stopped raining. The two sang together.

_Here in the night_

_I see the sun_

_Here in the dark_

_Our two hearts are one_

Kayley jumped on a field, causing parts of it to rise each step she took. She fell backwards and Garrett caught her.

_It's out of our hands_

_We can't stop what we have begun_

_And love just took me by surprise_

_Looking through your eyes_

Devon cried in joy, as Cornwall took a leaf from a plant and held it above his head in order to stay dry. Quicksilver, Sharpshot, and the riders shook their heads with amusement at Devon's hysterical crying. Kayley and Garrett walked through an area of tongue plants.

_I see a night I wish could last forever_

_I see a world we're meant to see together_

Garrett poked the plant with his stick and showed Kayley how to defend herself against the plants. He lifted his stick in the air and lowered it in front of Kayley who grabbed hold of it. As the plant swung its tongue at them, Garrett helped Kayley to dodge the tongues properly and at the right time.

_And it is so much more than I remember_

_More than I remember_

_More than I have known_

After Garrett had finished teaching Kayley the skills, Kayley raised his stick, but Garrett lowered it behind her back, smiling. Ayden flew in grabbed droplets of water with his wings and formed the three interlocked rings around them which stayed in mid-air. The three interlocked rings dissolved back into droplets into the water.

_Here in the night, I see the sun_

Cornwall poked a plant which swung its tongue at him and hit Devon in the face, which made Kayley, Garrett, Quicksilver, Sharpshot, and the riders to laugh.

_Here in the dark, our two hearts are one_

Then another plant swung its tongue at Devon and Cornwall who tried to dodge the tongues. But they landed on their butt and the two plants wrapped their tongues around them, and kissed them, which grossed out the two headed dragon. Then a bunch of single eye creatures popped out from the many holes of a log.

_It's out of our hands, we can't stop what we have begun_

Devon tried to break free of the plant's grip only to accidentally sent his fist into his mouth. That caused Kayley, Garrett, Quicksilver, Sharpshot, and the riders to laugh and they continued to walk on.

_And love just took me by surprise, looking through your eyes_

They walked past the waterfall, Kayley opened up part of the waterfall with her hand and the waterfall closed. Leaf creatures flew up from the ground as Devon and Cornwall walked behind them. Kayley, Garrett, Quicksilver, Sharpshot, and the riders walked past the field of helicopter plants which they flew off.

_Looking through your eyes_

Devon and Cornwall ran after Quicksilver and the humans who are following after the giant footsteps.

* * *

_She wasn't exactly sure when it happened. Or even when it started. All she knew for sure was that right here and now, she was falling hard and she could only pray that he was feeling the same way. _\- Nicholas Sparks


	31. Don't Wake The Ogre

Chapter 31: Don't Wake The Ogre

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

Our heroes were walking on from the part of the forest and encountered a white fog that covered the giant footprints they were following.

"Uh Oh." Kayley said.

"What is it?" Garrett asked.

"We've lost the tracks." Hiccup said.

Suddenly, a loud thumping noise was heard. Everyone else was looking all around, wondering what the sound is.

"Tell me that was your stomach." Carlos begged.

"Mm-umm. Just the ogre." Garrett corrected.

"Ogre?!" Devon asked, frightened with wide eyes.

"Well, see ya! Good luck! Have a nice life! Whatever's left of it…" Cornwall said.

"What's so scary about ogres?" Audrey asked.

Out of nowhere, a rib-cage of a large animal landed on Kayley, Garrett, and the riders, but neither of them were hurt.

"Their appetite!" Devon gasped.

The humans were shocked as they looked around the rib cage as Quicksilver gazed at it from the outside. Hiccup thought that Red Death would be able to eat something of this size or maybe the Ogre would be able to eat Red Death.

"Oh no! I think it's Uncle Yorick!" Cornwall moaned.

"Alas poor Yorick! I knew him well." Devon sighed as he picked up a dragon skull and held it in a pose that was used in the first act of Hamlet. Then he held the skull close to his head. Ayden and Sharpshot chirped when the thumping came closer to them. Garrett gasped when he heard Ayden's chirp.

"Quick! Get out of the way!" Garrett warned as the Ogre's foot appeared from the fog.

All of the humans dodged out of the skeleton, before the ogre stepped on the skeleton. They all looked up to the ogre as parts of moss fell from him. Suddenly, Excalibur's scabbard fell with the moss and landed in front of Kayley.

"It's the scabbard from Excalibur!" Kayley gasped as the ogre went into his cave.

"He does have the sword." Merida confirmed as Kayley picked up the scabbard.

* * *

The heroes soon entered towards the cave with Garrett in the lead and the sisters, the riders, Quicksilver, Sharpshot, Ayden, Devon and Cornwall following behind him.

"Ogres sleep during the day, we wait for him to fall asleep. Then we grab the sword." Garrett whispered.

"Define "we"?" Devon questioned, brow arched.

"Shhh, quiet." Garrett shushed, "The slightest noise and we're finished."

"Oooh, charming place. I must get the name of his decorator." Devon remarked, sarcastically as he gazed at all of the skeleton bones everywhere.

"What's he doing?" Garrett inquired.

Kayley and the others carefully poked their heads in the opening looking for the ogre, but all they could see was rocks and moss in the cave.

"I don't see him." Kayley replied.

"Are you sure he's here?" Merida asked.

"He's here, I can smell him." Garrett assured.

"**He's definitely here.**" Quicksilver added.

Suddenly, the cave began to shake. Then parts of the rocks and moss moved. A giant rock shaped being appeared. It was the Ogre.

"You're right." Kayley quietly gasped.

"He _is_ here." Hiccup stated.

"Where's Excalibur?" Garrett asked.

Kayley poked her head and saw that the ogre is using Excalibur as a toothpick to pick out the parts from his teeth.

"He's using it as a toothpick!" Kayley answered with shock.

"Tell me when he falls asleep." Garrett insisted.

Right after Garrett said that, the ogre yawned and went to sleep which caused the cave to shake like an earthquake.

"Let me guess: He fell asleep." Cornwall announced, sarcastically.

"Describe the layout." Garrett inquired.

"There's a ledge, that hangs just above the sword." Kayley informed when she spotted Excalibur sticking out from the ogre's hand and a ledge above the sword.

"But it must be a 20 foot drop." Hiccup added.

Garrett used his staff and placed it next to Cornwall. He placed his hand on the stick, and compared it to Cornwall's height. He walked away, Devon and Cornwall looked confused. Later, Devon and Cornwall's tail is hooked on the rock on the ledge, as they held onto Garrett who held onto Kayley with his staff who's trying to grab Excalibur. There for created a chain. Hiccup wrapped some rope around the two-headed dragon's waist so that they wouldn't fall. He and the other riders along with Quicksilver held onto the rope. Devon and Cornwall groaned at the weight of the two humans.

"Lower me down. More." Kayley requested.

Not too far from them, Ruber and his men arrived in the cave.

"Hey boss! Look! It's Excal-" The Arrow-shooting thug shouted only to be interrupted when Ruber shoved one of the mace-wielding thug's mace balls into his mouth. Ruber turned to see that the ogre hasn't woken up and chain wasn't paying any attention to them.

"I hate ogres." Ruber muttered as he shuddered and then turned to his men, "Walk this way."

Ruber's minions tiptoed behind Ruber, making some metallic noises every step they took. Ruber sighed in annoyance. Devon spotted Ruber, The Griffin and the henchmen from their spot. Hiccup, Quicksilver, and the other riders spotted them as well.

"Oh no, it's him!" Devon gasped as he accidentally let go of Garrett's foot.

"Hey!" Garrett said.

"Oops." Devon commented, quickly grabbing Garrett's foot.

However that jolt caused Kayley to nearly fall, but her feet managed to stay hooked on Garrett's staff. Kayley lowered herself enough to Excalibur. Ruber climbed on the Griffin's back and began to fly off, causing dust to rise.

"Ah-ah-ahhh-CHOOO!" The Griffin sneezed.

After the Griffin sneezed, Ruber gasped, then the riders, Cornwall, Garrett, and lastly Kayley. Then the ogre opened his right eye in front of Kayley.

"Uh-oh. Nap's time over!" Kayley gasped and then got an idea, "Quick, swing me back and forth!" Garrett does so, but he groaned whilst doing so.

"You're getting very sleepy, sleepy." Kayley hypnotized which caused the ogre to slowly close his eye.

"Can you reach it?" Garrett asked.

"I've got it!" Kayley announced as soon as she grabbed ahold of Excalibur.

Devon and Cornwall moaned as Ayden grabbed hold of Devon's head and the others pulled the chain to safety. Ruber and the Griffin flew off again and tried to steal back the sword. But the ogre, still groggy, yawned in front of them, causing them to fly off course as the group ran for the exit. Ruber and the Griffin screamed as they fell. Three of Ruber's henchmen chased after the group, but the ogre slammed his hand into them, narrowly missed the group while Ruber and the Griffin landed on the ground. The ogre yawned and lifted his hand in the air. The flattened, but unharmed minions, blinked. Then the ogre began to change his sleeping position. Ruber and the Griffin gasped as the ogre's rear end lowered in front of them. The ogre sat down in his sleeping position, causing dust to rise.

"The ogre's butt!" Ruber complained.

"Well, master. At least things can't get any worse." The Griffin commented, trying to assure Ruber that nothing bad was going to happen.

Apparently the Griffin had spoken way too soon. After he said that, the ground began to shake.

"Wanna bet?" Ruber asked.

As the group ran towards the exit of the cave, breaking wind was heard.

"Whoa! Watch it!" Cornwall warned when he looked behind them.

They dodged as Ruber and the Griffin were sent flying above them and crashed in front of the wall, dodging its stalactites. The group ran past them.

"Seize them!" Ruber ordered in a high-pitched voice.

"Yes, master!" The Griffin replied in the same tone.

Devon and Cornwall are the first to run through the exit and stopped at a cliff and gasped at the how long the drop was.

"There's no way out!" Devon stated.

"Well, there's one way out: You'll have to fly!" Kayley declared.

"We can't fly!" Devon protested before he broke the fourth wall, "We've explained that, before our song."

Kayley, Hiccup, and Garrett bumped into them, knocking themselves off the cliff.

"Houston, we have a PROBLEM!" Cornwall shouted as they slide down the cliff with Cornwall's voice echoing.

Audrey, Carlos, and Merida quickly jumped onto Quicksilver's back and followed after their friends. Less than a minute later, Ruber and his henchmen stopped at the cliff.

"After you!" Ruber ordered as he kicked them down the cliff.

Ayden chirped in view, Ruber saw this, and motioned the Griffin to attack him. The Griffin does so, but missed him, and Ayden flew around Ruber, who swung his sword at him, but missed. The Griffin's eyes widened and shrieked when he realized what he was flying into. Ruber growled in shock as the Griffin crashed into the cliff, below him, crumbling the cliff with Ruber on it, causing him to fall with the Griffin.

Meanwhile, back to the group who were still sliding down the cliff with Kayley, Hiccup, and Garrett on Devon and Cornwall, Sharpshot following, and Quicksilver with her passengers beside them with Ruber's minions still sliding far behind. The Griffin and Ruber were right behind them.

"Ladies and Gentlemen: Please put your seats in the upright position!" Devon announced.

"Assume the crash position and hope you don't smell your socks!" Cornwall continued.

"Tray tables up…" Devon added.

"Put away your sandwiches!" Cornwall concluded.

"Turbulence!" Devon finalized.

"Hold on, gang. I think we're going in." Cornwall declared.

"Help! Mayday! Mayday!" Devon cried as he tried to grab the branch, but lost his grip and continued falling and sliding down the cliff.

After the group had slid away, Ruber's minions crash-land on a rock nearby and were knocked out. Then the Griffin and Ruber fell onto them and ended up the same way. Meanwhile, the group were still sliding down the slope, Devon and Cornwall's back was catching fire, due to them sliding down on the cliff.

"We know you do have a choice, so thank you for flying Dragon Air!" Devon announced before yelling in pain, "Ow! OW! OWW!"

They landed in a lake extinguishing the fire. Garrett and Hiccup fell off into the water, but Kayley managed to stay on. While those who were riding on Quicksilver, landed on the shore of the lake and quickly got off.

"Tell you what, next time you try to fly, and we'll hold on." Cornwall suggested sarcastically as Devon nodded in agreement.

"We did it. We did it! I can't believe it! We did it!" Kayley exclaimed as she raised Excalibur in the air.

"Congratulations." Garrett chuckled as he placed his hand on the top of his stick and leaned on it. Kayley gently took the sword out of the scabbard and held it up in front of her.

"Wow. So this is Excalibur." Kayley whispered before she handed over to Merida.

"It's beautiful." Merida said, awing at it before she handed over to Hiccup.

"Amazing." Hiccup said before handing it over to Carlos and soon passed it to Audrey.

Devon and Cornwall squabble over each other to hold the sword.

"Can I hold it? Give it to me!" Devon begged.

"Please, let me hold it. Me!" Cornwall begged as well.

"No! Excalibur only belongs in the hands of Arthur." Garrett protested towards Devon and Cornwall, "Come on, everyone."

Audrey handed Excalibur back to Kayley who placed the sword back into its scabbard as they followed after Garrett.

* * *

_With the right people, culture, and values, you can accomplish great things._

\- Tricia Griffith


	32. Failed

Chapter 32: Failed

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

Our heroes were walking through the Forbidden Forest. After finally gaining Excalibur from the rock ogre and outrunning Ruber, they were almost at Camelot. The humans were climbing down a rock one at a time.

"Garrett, do you think our mother's safe?" Kayley asked, fiddling with her ponytail.

"If she's anything like you and Audrey, I'm sure she's fine. We must hurry. There isn't much time left." Garrett assured as Quicksilver jumped down beside them.

Not too far ahead of them was Devon and Cornwall walking through the forest.

"First dragons to enter Camelot! We'll be famous!" Cornwall boasted.

"I can see us on the poster now! "Presenting... The Wonderful Devon! ...And his little head, Cornwall." Devon added.

Ayden and Sharpshot flew in, chirping to Kayley, Garrett, and the others while Kayley and Garrett held hands. They saw an opening up ahead where they could slightly see the sky.

"Garrett, up ahead. The sky." Kayley announced as Ayden and Sharpshot flew in that direction.

"The end of the Forbidden Forest." Garrett confirmed.

Quicksilver and the riders ran forward, Kayley started to follow, bringing Garrett with her, but he stopped. She turned to him and smiled. Garrett let go of her hand.

"It's okay. You go on ahead." Garrett encouraged.

Kayley smiled faintly and continued to run to catch up with the others.

"I'll be... right behind you." Garrett finished, his smile slowly faded.

"Why don't you shut up? How 'bout 'Cornwall and his obnoxious talking wart'?" Cornwall retorted.

"Knock it off." Garrett sighed, swung his stick at them which they dodged.

Devon and Cornwall looked at each other in confusion.

"I don't know what's eating this guy." Cornwall inquired, pointing his thumb at Garrett.

"Envy. Poor lad." Devon suggested as he placed his hand on his chest and shook his head.

Then they followed after Garrett. Ayden and Sharpshot flew through the last part of the forest and into the opening. Kayley pushed back the branch to reveal the kingdom of Camelot. Everyone gasped quietly at the sight of the kingdom.

"Camelot." Audrey whispered.

"Oh, Garrett! It's so beautiful." Kayley awed at kingdom and turned to Garrett who grew sad at Kayley's words, "I wish you can see it."

"I have seen it and there was no place for me." Garrett said as he walked over to Kayley sadly and took Excalibur off his shoulder.

"Garrett, what's wrong?" Kayley questioned worriedly.

"Take Excalibur to Arthur. You don't have much time." Garrett ordered as handed Excalibur to Kayley and began to walk away.

Kayley looked between Excalibur and Garrett in confusion with a hint of denial. She ran up to him, blocking his path.

"But we'll deliver the sword together!" Kayley insisted as she held Excalibur in front of her.

"No. You deliver it. I... I don't belong in that world." Garrett firmly said and walked back into the forest. "Come on, Ayden."

Kayley and the others looked at Garrett sadly as he walked on with Ayden following behind him.

"But you belong in mine." Kayley whispered.

Then she turned around and headed off to Camelot with the others behind her.

* * *

Garrett continued to walk through the forest while Ayden flew around him.

_Like every tree_

_stands on its own_

_reaching for the sky_

_I stand alone_

Ayden chirped and squawked at Garrett as if trying to tell him to go back with Kayley and the others.

"You don't understand. In Camelot, she'd only see me through their eyes. Not a knight. Not a man." Garrett protested as he continued walking while shedding a tear, "Not anything."

_I share my world_

_with no one else_

_all by myself_

_I stand alone_

* * *

Meanwhile, Kayley and the others were walking towards Camelot. They could easily tell that she was still saddened by Garrett's departure. Throughout their time in the Forbidden Forest, they knew that Garrett could easily outshine any knight in Camelot. After all, you don't meet that many blind people who can fight like that.

"Forget about him. You're better off alone. He walks funny. He even looks funny. People throw darts at him." Cornwall said.

"How can you be so cold-blooded?" Devon asked, appalled.

"I'm a reptile." Cornwall remarked as he stuck out his tongue in a snake-like fashion.

Devon and the others rolled their eyes at this.

"Listen, you Jurassic twit!" Devont retorted, "Kayley deserves someone who will love her. Someone... who'll hold her in his arms. Who runs his fingers through her hair. Look deeply in her eyes and... make her feel like a real woman!"

Unexpectedly, Devon kissed Cornwall, but Cornwall spluttered which made Devon feel nauseous and turned green. They gagged, spat, and spluttered dramatically. This also grossed out Quicksilver, Sharpshot, and the riders. So they quickly followed after Kayley. They continued walking down the main road. Kayley looked at Excalibur and stopped. Then she handed the sword to Audrey.

"You all keep going. I'm going to find Garrett." Kayley said.

But before either of them could do anything, they were captured by some mace-wielding thugs. Quicksilver was held down by her wings and tried to get free. Unnoticed by them, Sharpshot hid behind a rock.

"I'll take that." Ruber said as the two sisters grunted as Ruber took Excalibur from its scabbard.

"Excalibur. Mine forever!" Ruber exclaimed and turned to the sisters and the riders, "You've been quite annoying... for a bunch of children."

Unaware of the danger yet, Devon and Cornwall carried on walking with Cornwall still spluttering.

"Cheer up! When we get to Camelot, we'll be kissed by the world's most beautiful women." Devon encouraged.

"Right! We're a giant lizard with two heads! We have to beat him off with a stick." Cornwall remarked.

They stopped in their tracks when they saw the sisters, the riders, and Quicksilver captured by Ruber and his men, the former holding Excalibur. Devon was about to call out for help but Cornwall clamped his mouth shut with his hand and they ran behind a rock where Sharpshot was and watched without being seen.

"I've waited ten years to hold his sword," Ruber announced, laughing evilly, "And now I'll make sure I'll hold it forever."

He took out his Acme potion and swung Excalibur. He uncorked the bottle with his teeth and spat the cork out.

"Prepare for the dawning of A NEW AGE!" Ruber shouted, putting a drop onto his hand and the hilt

"No!" Kayley and the riders denied with wide eyes.

Ruber writhed in pain as the potion's magic and flames begin to shoot upwards, creating clouds of green smoke above them. One green comet shoots past our heroes and the iron-men. Cornwall pulled Devon's head down as a second one flew above them. During the painful process, Bladebeak ran around scared before jumping into the wagon. He poked his head out and held the curtains around it, shivering.

"Chicken!" The Griffin teased.

The potion's magic and clouds of smoke faded away. When Ruber blew the green flame out, it revealed his hand is now merged with Excalibur, its hilt turned black and his arm now entire mechanical.

"It's hot." Ruber commented.

Kayley and the riders fell to their knees in defeat. Ruber walked up to Kayley and ran his only left hand's fingers on her chin.

"Don't worry, little children. I'll make sure Arthur gets it back." Ruber falsely comforted them, "Or gets it in the back," he broke into laughter, "As the case may be. Throw them into the wagon."

Hiccup turned and saw Devon, Cornwall, and Sharpshot, hiding behind a rock.

"Find Garrett." Hiccup mouthed.

The three dragons nodded their heads and went off to find Garrett. Quicksilver was instantly wrapped in chains and dragged into another wagon. Soon enough the sisters and the riders were hurled into the wagon by the ironmen.

"Kayley! Audrey!" Juliana exclaimed when she saw her daughters.

"Mother." Kayley and Audrey said.

Juliana, Kayley, and Audrey hugged each other.

"Oh, thank heavens you all are safe." Juliana sighed in relief.

"We're sorry, mother. We failed you." Audrey apologized.

"We found Excalibur, only for it to be taken by Ruber." Carlos said.

"And now, Camelot will be lost." Kayley added before she and Audrey cried on her mother's lap.

"No, dears. You were brave." Juliana consoled as she strokes her daughters' hair.

Bladebeak and his wife look on sadly. Ruber's shadow loomed over them.

"What a touching reunion. But all this love is making me nauseous," Ruber remarked sarcastically, "And you've got a job to do, Juliana. Remember if you don't..."

"We'll do our job on them." Two spike-slinger thugs concluded.

"Don't lose hope." Juliana whispered to Audrey and Kayley before she was dragged out of the wagon.

Bladebeak blows his 'beak' with his handkerchief, tearing it apart in the process.

The sisters and the riders grew worried for Juliana and King Arthur. They hoped that Devon and Cornwall would be able to get to Garrett in time. Until then, they had no other choice but to be hostages.

* * *

Devon and Cornwall ran through the forest to find Garrett, with Sharpshot following after them, and spotted him just ahead of them. The two headed ran towards him as they spoke.

"I say, Garrett, something awful's happened!" Devon said.

"Yeah, don't just stand here. We've got to go!" Cornwall continued, overlapping Devon.

Garrett continued walking, ignoring them until...

"Kayley and the others have been captured." Devon announced.

"And Ruber's got Excalibur!" Cornwall added.

"What?" Garrett exclaimed, turning to them, "Take me to them! Come on, Ayden." Ayden chirped along with Sharpshot and followed after Garrett.

"They'd be halfway to Camelot by now!" Cornwall commented.

"Cornwall's right. We'd have to fly to get there in time. Ruber drives me completely nuts. He makes me so mad and angry!" Devon concurred.

"He's definitely a jerk! A giant jerk!" Cornwall carried on.

While they were speaking, they didn't realize that their wings began to flap, making them flying.

"That foul barbarian. Wait till we get our hands on him. I'll tear him limb from limb." Devon agreed.

Ayden and Sharpshot saw Devon and Cornwall flying and flew back to Garrett, telling him the news.

"Yeah, we'll show him a thing or two. Won't we?" Cornwall stated as he and Devon were flying upside down without knowing they were.

Garrett swung his staff underneath them to see if they were flying.

"Yes. We darn well will." Devon replied.

"You're flying." Garrett announced.

"Gosh. He's right. We are flying." Devon commented, both of them realized this as they right themselves.

"I did it! I'm great," Cornwall exclaimed as he kissed his biceps twice, "I love me. I did it."

"Excuse me, egomaniac. You mean I did it." Devon corrected, hitting Cornwall on the head.

Then their wings stopped flapping, due to the argument, causing them to fall into a mud pool, splattering mud everywhere, some onto Garrett.

"Don't you get it?" Garrett inquired as Devon and Cornwall raised their heads from the mud pool, Devon having parts of the grass and mud on his head like a beret while Cornwall had parts of mud and a flower on his head and neck stylized as hair and a bra, "The only reason you can't fly is because you can't agree on anything. There must be something you can agree on. You both love Audrey and Kayley, don't you?"

Devon and Cornwall spat out mud before looking at each other.

* * *

_It is your attitude at the beginning of a task that determines success or failure._ ~ Corrine Dewlow


	33. Ruber Attacks

Chapter 33: Ruber Attacks

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

The wagons approached the drawbridge as dark clouds circled the kingdom.

"Wagons approaching!" A guard announced.

"Not a word. And let's all keep our heads, shall we?" Ruber whispered, his face hiding in a cape.

Juliana turned to the inside of the wagon and saw Audrey's and Kayley's hands tied behind their backs, gagged, with their necks close to the spikeslinger thug's blade. The riders also had their hands tied behind their backs and gagged. Juliana gasped before turning back to the front.

"It's Lady Juliana. Lower the bridge at once." Another guard commanded.

The drawbridge lowered. Ruber grinned evilly as he and the wagons entered Camelot. Ruber looked around carefully to see if no one was suspicious as his minions remained hidden in the carts when they arrived in Camelot. A girl played with her doll as her dog barked happily. She dropped the doll until her mother picked it up and handed it back to her.

"Steady, steady." Ruber said to his horse.

Suddenly, one of the wagon's wheels went over a rock, causing it to jolt. Inside the wagon, Carlos and Hiccup kicked the thugs with their legs, causing the two thugs to fall through the floor and scraped themselves on the tiles. Kayley and the riders dodged as the thugs pierced the wooden beams with their claws. Bladebeak had finished clucking to his wife and turned to the sisters and the riders.

"Bladebeak, at your service!" Bladebeak offered.

He used his 'beak' to slice off the ropes on Kayley's hands before doing the same with Audrey and the riders and they untied their gags. The wagons came to a stop in front of the castle.

"Lady Juliana?" One of the knights asked.

"Hey, it's a trap!" Kayley, the first one burst of the wagon, exclaimed.

The residents and knights gasped in fright. Ruber revealed himself and his horse neighed.

"ATTACK!" Ruber shouted.

The knights gasped as Ruber charged on his horse towards them. Suddenly the thugs burst out of the wagons, scaring the residents. Finally, the spike-slinger thug burst out of the wagon, slicing it into pieces.

"SEAL OFF THE CASTLE!" Ruber commanded, slicing most of the knights' swords and spears with Excalibur.

Everyone ran for their lives. Ruber charged on his horse into the castle, two of his thugs blocked the front doors. The knights charged towards the iron-men but were defeated. One knight tried to strike the arrow-shooting thug with his sword, but the blade broke off in contact. Then a thug grabbed a knight and hurled him into another knight, next to a pit of fiery coals. The knight crashed into the pit, knocking it over, spilling out the coals and causing the fire to spread near the stables. The knights tried again to defeat the iron-men but to no avail. A knight was thrown back.

"Ruber has breached the castle keep. The king is still inside!" One of the knights informed.

Kayley and Audrey looked at the front doors and then Kayley looked the tower's scaffolding while Audrey and the riders looked at the trapped dragons. The two sisters looked at each other and nodded with determination.

"Mother, I must help the king." Kayley said.

"I'll help the dragons." Audrey said.

Then Kayley headed off to the scaffolding while Audrey followed the riders to get the dragons free.

"Don't worry. We'll be fine." Bladebeak reassured as his wife and Juliana stayed behind.

Kayley made her way to the ramparts and tried to run across the scaffolding to get into the castle, but then the Griffin flew in. She jumped off the scaffolding and out of the way as the Griffin smashed through the scaffolding. Then two thugs came from both sides of her and cornered her on the rampart's edge. Kayley lost her balance and began to fall. Suddenly, she was raised back up and it turned out that Garrett had broken her fall with his staff and now on Devon and Cornwall who were now flying.

"Garrett! You came back!" Kayley exclaimed.

"Heads up!" Garrett warned.

Kayley dodged as Devon and Cornwall swung their tail at the thugs, causing them to fall into the moat, screaming.

"Sorry I'm late," Garrett apologized, jumping off Devon and Cornwall, "I hate flying coach."

Kayley and Garrett hugged each other in reunion.

"You're flying!" Kayley noticed.

"Yes, we're frequent flyers now." Devon confirmed.

"**Indeed they are.**" Sharpshot added.

* * *

Meanwhile, Audrey and the riders went towards the wagons where their dragons were chained. Audrey went over to Quicksilver and tried to unlock the chains, but couldn't. Hiccup came to her aid and used his inferno to break the hoop near Quicksilver's foot.

"Quicksilver, can you use your tail to free the other dragons?" Hiccup asked as Audrey removed the chains.

"**Of course. Leave it to me.**" Quicksilver said as she readied her tail wings.

Then she followed after Audrey and Hiccup as he pointed out where her tail should cut. She swung her tail and chains on Toothless came off. He jumped off the wagon and nuzzled against Hiccup who wrapped his arms around Toothless's neck.

"**I knew that you would be back to set us free.**" Toothless said.

"I promised, didn't I?" Hiccup asked.

"**Well then, shall we enter the fight?**" Aileana asked as she, Merida, and the other dragon with their riders joined up.

"Yeah, let's go!" Hiccup cheered.

The riders got out their weapons and joined the fight. Each dragon was able to defend their rider as they went against the ironmen. The knights of Camelot were surprised by the dragons. At first they were going to attack the creatures until they saw the dragons defending them from the ironmen. So they were glad to have allies to help them.

* * *

"Where's Ruber?" Garrett questioned.

"He has the king trapped inside. There's no way in." Kayley replied.

"The king," Garrett said, "Wait! I know a way! Through the stables!"

Suddenly the Griffin flew into view, making Garrett and Kayley gasp. Then Ayden and Sharpshot attacked the Griffin, causing him to chase the falcon and the Terrible Terror. Then more of Ruber's minions were closing in.

"Give me your hand," Kayley requested when she spotted a haystack cart with a horse, "Jump!"

Garrett and Kayley jump down from the rampart and into the cart. Kayley landed in the hay while Garrett landed on the driver's seat and rode the cart off to the stables.

"What are you doing?" Kayley asked.

"I'm driving!" Garrett replied.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Kayley exclaimed.

"No problem! Hang on!" Garrett answered.

"Garrett, Garrett, on your left!" Kayely directed before she realized that they were going in the wrong direction, "No, Garrett, right! Right!"

"Coming through!" Garrett shouted.

"Look out!" Kayley screamed.

"Look out!" Garrett exclaimed.

The hay caught on fire and the cart crashed, sending Kayley and Garrett to crash-land on bags of flour unharmed.

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" Garrett remarked.

Kayley looked at Garrett and then sighed.

"You two okay?" Hiccup asked.

The two looked up and saw Hiccup and Audrey standing over them. They held their hands out to the two and got them back onto their feet.

"No offense, Garrett, but you're not very good at driving." Audrey commented.

"I guess so." Garrett agreed.

"Do you guys know another way into the castle?" Hiccup asked.

"Yes, through the stables." Garrett answered.

"We'll continue to help the knights while you two help the king, okay?" Hiccup asked.

"Leave it to us." Kayley assured.

Garrett directed them to the stables and the four lifted the tile that lead to the catacombs.

"These tunnels lead to the Round Table." Garrett informed.

"Good luck you two." Hiccup stated.

"To you as well." Kayley said as she and Garrett went inside the catacombs.

Garrett lead Kayley into the catacombs while Hiccup and Audrey went off into the fight.

* * *

Outside above Camelot, the Griffin chased Ayden and Sharpshot until he finally grabbed ahold of the two.

"Finally, Silver Wings, you're mine." The Griffin said.

Suddenly, something yanked the Griffin's tail.

"Excuse me?" Devon asked, holding the Griffin's tail.

"Pick on somebody your own size!" Cornwall demanded, "Let's barbecue this bully!"

"I couldn't agree more." Devon concurred.

The Griffin was about to eat Ayden and Sharpshot until Devon and Cornwall breathed fire at him, causing the Griffin to let go of Ayden and Sharpshot while screeching in pain.

As Ayden and Sharpshot fell through in the air, Devon and Cornwall swooped down and caught them.

"Hang on, little guys!" Cornwall informed, stroking Ayden and Sharpshot.

Devon and Cornwall then chased off the Griffin by repeatedly breathing fire at him.

* * *

Back in Camelot, Juliana and Audrey were tending to an injured knight as Bladebeak and his wife watch along with Quicksilver. The mace-wielding thug spun its mace-balls around, roaring. Quicksilver got in front of them to protect them.

"You got to ask yourself 'do I feel clucky'? Well, do ya, punk?" Bladebeak stepped to him, asking, passing Quicksilver.

Bladebeak squawked as he jumped on the mace-wielding thug and started to peck on his neck with his 'beak'. Bladebeak's wife turned to Juliana and Audrey, pointing at him and then herself as if saying 'That's my man'.

* * *

Garrett, and Kayley entered the round table room by lifting up a floor tile and moving it aside. They spot Ruber trying to strike Arthur with Excalibur, but kept missing and ended up striking the table, causing splinters to fly.

"I'm gonna have more fun getting rid of you than when I got rid of Sir Lionel!" Ruber gloated.

Kayley clenched her fists angrily, finally understood the truth of her father's death. Then begin to climb up a scaffolding.

"I may not survive..." Arthur groaned.

"Kayley, no!" Garrett whispered.

"...but you'll never destroy the ideals of Camelot!" Arthur finished.

"Well, I got to start somewhere." Ruber retorted.

He swung Excalibur at Arthur, but he dodged as Ruber struck the edge of the table.

"Say hello to your new king!" Ruber exclaimed, wielding Excalibur in the air and grabbed Arthur mercilessly.

"You're no king!" Arthur gritted his teeth.

"You're right. Perhaps... I'm more of a GOD!" Ruber agreed as he held Arthur in the air and hurled him across the table.

"Hey, Ruber!" Kayley shouted who was on the scaffolding, standing on a wooden beam attached to a rope.

"You!" Ruber turned around.

"I will not serve a false king!" Kayley proclaimed.

Ruber growled after hearing those words from ten years ago. Kayley swung down on the beam which knocked Ruber off the table and straight to the window. The window shattered on impact and out came Ruber and Kayley landing on the tiled floor behind the circles of stone, unharmed. Kayley came to and saw that Ruber was doing the same. He got himself up, using Excalibur with its blade digging into the tiled-floor. Kayley turned to see the Magic Stone, now completely covered with thorny vines. Then turned to Ruber who was getting himself back on his feet. Kayley quickly thought of a plan for Excalibur to get separate from Ruber as she got to her feet.

"You... you were in the way, just like your father." Ruber groaned.

Kayley quickly hid behind a stone pillar.

"Since you're dying to be like him..." Ruber continued as he swung Excalibur at Kayley, who dodged out of the way, rolling towards the stone.

She placed her hand on the stone which its magic swirls around her hand.

"Let's see if I can help you out!" Ruber finished.

While Ruber prepared to strike, Garrett came up behind him with his staff, ready to strike him from behind. However Ruber spotted him slightly and turned around suddenly and sliced Garrett's staff with Excalibur. Two halves of the staff landed on the ground, Garrett moved his hands around, trying to find his staff.

"Oopsy daisy. You'll probably need that!" Ruber mocked, grabbing Garrett by the hair to throw him away from his now-decapitated stick.

Kayley watched in dismay as Ruber grabbed Garrett by the shoulder and hurls him to Kayley who caught him.

"Where's your pigeon now?" Ruber asked teasingly, twitching his eyebrows.

"Hold your ground until the last possible moment." Kayley whispered.

"Yes, and you'll give the signal." Garrett whispered, realizing her plan.

"Two for the price of one!" Ruber prepared to strike, Kayley and Garrett glared at Ruber, waiting for Kayley's signal, "This must be my lucky day!"

"NOW!" Kayley gave the signal.

Kayley and Garrett move away from each other just as Ruber struck Excalibur at them, missing them completely, and ended up stabbing the stone instead. Ruber soon realized this as the vines broke off from the stone.

"Oh no. The stone!" Ruber gasped as he tried to yank himself but unable to do so.

Ruber screamed in pain as the stone's magic flashes on Ruber's fused arm and Excalibur. Then lightning strikes on Excalibur and a magic beam flashes around him as the potion's magic explodes into smoke. Lightning and the light beam flash from behind the round table tower. The beam caused a magical shock-wave that spread throughout the kingdom. While Juliana and the riders fought off the thugs, the magical shock-wave passed, transforming Ruber's men and Bladebeak back to their normal selves. The riders were amazed at this as they saw all of Ruber's men transformed back into humans. The magical shock wave passed Devon and Cornwall, separating them to their separate selves.

"Hey!" Devon exclaimed.

"Hey!" Cornwall remarked.

They looked at each other sadly. They made their decision as the next magic shock-wave passed, they made themselves back to their conjoined self. In the round table room, the magical shock-wave passed Arthur, removing the sling off him and healing his arm. Arthur looked at his healed arm in shock. At the magic stone, the light beam flashes rapidly as lightning continues to strike Ruber's arm. Ruber laughed as he is disintegrated into smoke from chest to toe, leaving only Excalibur in the stone. Excalibur's hilt turned from black to sunlight-gold. Kayley watched as the light beam and the flashing on the stone faded away. There were only clouds of smoke left above the stone. Then something fell from the sky and landed back on earth: it was one of Ruber's shoulder pads. Kayley ran up to Garrett and hugged him as Devon and Cornwall along with the riders landed into the circle of stones and Ayden and Sharpshot flying into view. Then Audrey and Kayley shared a hug.

"Your father would've been proud of you two." Carlos said.

"I know that he would." Audrey agreed.

Then they all watched as Arthur stepped out to the stone. He drew Excalibur out of the stone and held it in the air.

* * *

_But the Dark cannot claim what Light does not surrender._ ― C.L. Wilson


	34. Knighted

Chapter 34: Knighted

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

Kayley and Audrey arrived in their white glittering dresses. They walked arm-in-arm into the room where Arthur and Garrett, in his knight uniform, were waiting. Devon and Cornwall sniffled and they blew their snouts. Hiccup, Carlos, and Merida with their dragons beside them along with Quicksilver watched the sisters pass by them with pride in their eyes.

"Kayley. Audrey." Juliana said.

They turn to their mother who handed them Sir Lionel's shield.

"You forgot this. Take it. It's yours." Juliana mentioned.

"I dub thee Sir Garrett," Arthur announced, tapping Excalibur on Garrett's shoulder. Then he tapped Excalibur on Kayley's shoulder, "I dub thee Lady Kayley," He tapped Excalibur on Audrey's shoulder, "I dub thee Lady Audrey. Thank you for saving Camelot. You have reminded us that the kingdom's strength is not based on the strength of a king, but the strength of the people. From this day forward, you will sit as Knights of the Round Table."

Kayley and Audrey smiled with joy as everyone, the dragons, and the knights cheered and applauded. Music started to play in the background as they begin to dance. Kayley handed the shield to Arthur as she danced with Garrett while Carlos danced with Audrey. The rooster was dancing with his wife.

"Isn't this everything you've ever wanted?" Kayley asked, spreading her arm out, gesturing to the celebration that was going on.

"Hmm, not quite...everything." Garrett answered as he twirled Kayley into his arms.

Then they shared a kiss. Devon and Cornwall watch in awe and teary-eyed. Devon started to make kissing noises to Cornwall. Cornwall quickly remembered what happened the last time when Devon did that gesture.

"Hey, don't even think about it!" Cornwall warned.

Ayden flew over them who watched as he flew over to Merlin who strokes his feathers.

"Well done, Ayden." Merlin praised.

Kayley handed Garrett his new staff and lead him away. Kayley and Garret ride on their horse with a sign that says 'Just Knighted' on the back as they rode off into the horizon.

* * *

Hiccup walked outside the castle doors and sat down on the steps while Toothless laid beside him and Sharpshot sat on his shoulder. He thought of the recent adventure that he and the gang just had. He was glad that Excalibur was finally returned to King Arthur and that Ruber was gone for good. Surprisingly, they found a new dragon rider. That was something he didn't expect to happen. But another thought came to him; when his friends told him that he should be chief of his own tribe. However, he doubted that he could be. He had no chief training and not to mention that the Hooligan tribe hated him for being different. Would be able to do such a task?

"All tired out?"

Hiccup turned at the voice and saw Merlin standing there with Ayden on his wrist. He wondered how he got there without Toothless and Sharpshot noticing him.

"I guess so." Hiccup replied.

"You seemed to be troubled." Merlin stated.

"Merlin, do you think I have what it takes to become a chief?" Hiccup questioned.

"What do you mean?" Merlin asked.

"My friends said that I would make a great chief when I finally make a place for dragons and humans to live together, but I'm having doubts for some strange reason." Hiccup explained, looking up at the afternoon sky.

"Is it because of what the people of your former home had said about you?" Merlin asked.

"Yeah." Hiccup admitted.

"What does your mother say about you?" Merlin questioned.

"She said that I have the heart of a chief and the soul of a dragon." Hiccup answered.

"Then she's right. You understand those who feel like outcasts to others. You make them feel special and provide value to their lives," Merlin confirmed, "If you are able to change people's minds about dragons, then you'll be able to lead a tribe of your own."

"You really think so?" Hiccup asked, turning at Merlin.

"I know so." Merlin declared.

Hiccup gave a small smile and looked up at the sky.

"I've heard that Audrey and Quicksilver are joining on your journey." Merlin commented.

"Yeah, she wishes to become a healer and wants to find all kinds of ingredients to make medicines." Hiccup said.

"She will indeed become a great healer for humans and dragons as well." Merlin added.

"I have no doubt that she'll be able to do it." Hiccup said.

"Indeed. So when will you all head off?" Merlin asked.

"Two days to be precise." Hiccup replied.

"Hm. Carlos seems to be very determined to find Cielo's mother." Merlin stated.

"Yeah, I think there's another reason behind it." Hiccup admitted.

"Reason? Would you mind telling me, Hiccup?" Merlin asked.

"Carlos lost his parents a long time ago. Then he met Cielo who was separated from his mother. I think he doesn't want Cielo to be parentless." Hiccup explained.

"I see," Merlin said, "But what do you hope to find at the end of your journey?"

"I already told you before." Hiccup reminded him.

"I know, I just wanted to make sure that you didn't change your mind about it after this 'chief' talk." Merlin said, "Not to mention that you'll face many obstacles when you're achieving your dream, Hiccup. Always rely on those you befriended and depended on."

"Don't worry, I haven't changed my mind and I'll always have faith towards my friends." Hiccup assured him.

"Then you'll be a great chief," Merlin concluded, "One day."

* * *

_Clarity of vision is the key to achieving your objectives._ \- Tom Steyer


	35. Queen Elsa of Arendelle

Chapter 35: Queen Elsa of Arendelle

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

Two days later, the dragon riders were ready to leave. Audrey and Quicksilver were coming with them. Lady Juliana was saddened to see her other daughter leave, but she knew that she had to let her go to achieve her dream. Luckily all of their stuff was packed away in the wagons, so they wouldn't have to get more new supplies for their journey or go back to Juliana's house to find them. So after making sure that they had everything, the dragon riders left the kingdom of Camelot and were flying over the seas for an hour or two when Hiccup and Carlos spotted a ship with a familiar symbol on its flags in the distance.

"Hiccup, is that what I think it is?" Carlos asked.

"Yup!" Hiccup answered as he flew ahead with the others behind him.

"Rapunzel!" Hiccup shouted.

"Eugene!" Carlos yelled.

The people on the deck of the boat looked to where they heard the voices and saw four dragons with people on them coming towards them.

"Hiccup! Carlos!" Rapunzel shouted as she and Eugene waved their arms.

As the dragon riders were getting closer, Rapunzel and Eugene gestured those on deck to step back. Then the dragon riders landed softly onto the ship deck. Hiccup and Carlos jumped off their dragons as Rapunzel leaped towards them and brought them into a group hug.

"We're glad to see you two again." Rapunzel said.

"We're glad to see you, Rapunzel. You too, Pascal." Hiccup said as Pascal walked along his arm and nuzzled his cheek against Hiccup's.

"And you too, Eugene." Carlos added.

"Likewise. Well it looks like you made some new friends while you were traveling." Eugene said.

"Rapunzel, Eugene, I would like to introduce you to our new riders." Hiccup greeted.

"I'm Merida of DunBroch and this is my dragon, Aileana." Merida introduced herself and her Deadly Nadder.

"I'm Audrey, a knight of Camelot and this is my dragon, Quicksilver." Audrey introduced herself and her Razorwhip.

"A pleasure to meet all of you as well." Rapunzel.

"So where are you guys headed?" Carlos asked.

"Well, we're headed to Arendelle." Eugene stated.

"Arendelle?" Hiccup asked.

"It's a kingdom where we have to attend Princess Elsa's coronation." Rapunzel answered.

"I've always wanted to see Arendelle." Merida said with a smile.

"Me too." Carlos added.

"Can we join you?" Hiccup asked.

"Sure. Then you can tell us everything on the way there." Rapunzel suggested.

"Sounds like a plan." Hiccup accepted.

* * *

On the way to Arendelle, Rapunzel and a few servants commissioned an outfit for the riders to wear for the coronation. Merida was just happy that she didn't have to wear a corset for it. Two days later, they arrived at Arendelle. The dragons, along with Pascal, had to hide in the boat as their riders along with Rapunzel and Eugene went into the town. The kingdom of Arendelle was indeed beautiful and peaceful at the same time. It reminded Hiccup and Carlos of the kingdom of Corona and the Kingdom of Avalor as well. Merida and Audrey were in awe of the kingdom as well.

"So this is Arendelle, huh?" Audrey asked, gazing at the town.

"Yes indeed." Rapunzel asked, walking ahead with Eugene by her side and the riders behind her.

"It seems like everyone is excited for the coronation." Hiccup commented.

"Yeah," Eugene agreed, "However, not many people have been allowed to go into the castle."

"How come?" Merida asked, curious.

"No one knows. It just happened one day a few years ago. A few servants were fired and the gates to the castle were closed off." Rapunzel explained.

"Even after the King and Queen passed away. No one has seen Princess Elsa. The other princess, Anna, was seen at the funeral. So everyone is excited to see the princesses." Rapunzel explained.

"I wonder why none of the princesses were allowed to leave the castle." Hiccup pondered.

"Who knows?" Audrey shrugged.

"Hey, can we check out Arendelle after the coronation?" Carlos asked.

"Sounds like a plan." Rapunzel agreed.

* * *

The group soon entered the castle and sat down in the pews to watch the ceremony. The dragon riders were amazed by the inside and the many nobles that were there. From where they sat, they were able to see the sisters. Princess Anna had slender, fair skin with light freckles, rosy cheeks, pink lips, long strawberry-blonde hair tied up in a braided bun with a platinum blonde streak and turquoise blue eyes. She wore a black sweetheart bodice with dark green off-the-shoulder straps and rose, teal, blue, and purple prints on it, and has greenish-gold trim, a black satin-lace necklace with a bronze pendant of Arendelle's symbol, an olive drab pleated skirt with sashes consisting of the following: asparagus centers with pink, crimson, dark olive green, olive drab, and blue prints on it.

Queen Elsa had slender, radiant pale skin with light freckles, rosy cheeks, pink lips, and her platinum blonde hair was woven into a French braided crown twist bun held together with a blue ribbon, and blue eyes. Her eyelids had a dusting of purple eyeshadow and she wore magenta lipstick. She wore a teal dress with a sweetheart bodice with bronze trim and dark teal, maroon and purple rosemaling on the skirt and bodice, a black long-sleeved turtleneck blouse with red and teal crystal-shaped prints on it, and a magenta cape. The strange thing was that she wore long cyan colored gloves with teal prints on, that went with her outfit.

The priest had just placed a golden tiara in her hair. Then he gave her the royal orb and scepter after she took her gloves off and stood in front of everyone in the room. However, she looked scared almost. As the priest was speaking, Hiccup noticed something blue growing on the orb and scepter as Elsa held them in her hands. But before Hiccup could think about it, Elsa had already put the orb and scepter back on the pillow and put her gloves back on. The ceremony was soon over.

* * *

They soon arrived at the throne room where the party took place. Much like the celebration back in Camelot, it was very festive whenever music was playing. The dragon riders watched as the royals and nobles danced together. Then everyone was clapping their hands at the end of the dance. Soon enough, Queen Elsa appeared.

"Queen Elsa of Arendelle." The male servant announced when Queen Elsa stood in front and then gestured Princess Anna who rushed into the room, "Princess Anna of Arendelle."

Princess Anna looked nervously towards the crowd and waved awkwardly. The servant coughed and ushered Anna to stand next to Elsa. She seemed nervous to be near her. Once again the crowd clapped their hands and everyone began their own conversations. The riders rejoined with Rapunzel and Eugene where they could easily see the two sisters.

"Is it just me or do they seem nervous around each other?" Carlos asked.

"I guess I'm not the only one to notice." Audrey commented.

"They're acting like they hadn't seen each other in years and are meeting for the first time." Eugene added.

"They're sisters living in the same castle. Wouldn't they see each other every day?" Merida asked.

"Who knows?" Hiccup shrugged.

Then they spotted an old man in a fancy outfit walking up to Elsa and Anna. The male servant from before stood aside to introduce the man.

"Your majesty. The Duke of Weaseltown." He introduced.

"Weselton"!" The Duke corrected glancing at the servant and turned to Elsa, "Duke of Weselton, Your majesty. As your closest partner in trade, it seems only fitting that I offer you your first dance as queen."

The Duke did a funny flitter of his feet, a hitch-kick, and a deep bow. As he held out his hand, head down, his toupee dipped forward. Anna giggled. Elsa looked at Anna, stifled a giggle herself. Rapunzel, Eugene, and the riders snickered at the Duke. When he stood back up, his toupee went back in place.

"Thank you...only I don't dance." Elsa said, calmly.

"Oh…" The Duke said, off guard.

"But my sister does." Elsa said, gesturing her sister.

"What?" Anna asked, surprised.

"Lucky you..." The Duke said.

"Oh, I don't think…" Anna began to say until the Duke grabbed Anna's arm and yanked her away before she could protest.

Rapunzel, Eugene, and the riders couldn't help but pity Princess Anna as she somewhat danced with him. Well more like he was dancing and he looked ridiculous doing it. They couldn't help but laugh at his dance moves. Then Rapunzel and Eugene went to greet Queen Elsa. They said hello and congratulations and walked back to the riders. Anna soon got away from the Duke a little bit after Elsa greeted another couple who soon left. Anna joined her sister's side once more. The sisters were smiling until Elsa's expression saddened and turned away from Anna when she tried to touch her. Then Anna walked away into the crowd and Elsa seemed saddened by this. This confused the group. They didn't know why the sisters were acting like this. It's as if they want to be sisters and the next, the other sister pushed the younger one away.

"I wonder why Queen Elsa is pushing away her sister." Hiccup pondered.

"It's like she scared to be near her for some reason." Rapunzel commented.

"But why is the question." Audrey said.

The group spotted Anna again when they noticed that she was dancing with a young man. Anna and the young man conversed with one another and left the throne room.

"Wonder where they're going." Carlos said.

"Who knows?" Merida shrugged.

Time had flown by for the group. They had to admit it was a nice party, but it was starting to get boring. Suddenly they spotted Anna coming through the doors and she was holding hands with the man she was dancing with earlier and leading him through the crowd to find her sister. Curiosity getting the best of them, the group decided to get a little closer to hear the conversation.

"May I present Prince Hans of the Southern Isles." Anna introduced the man while holding onto his arm.

"Your majesty," Hans greeted with a bow while placing his hand on his chest.

"We would like…" Anna and Hans said and laughed.

"Uh, your blessing…" Hans began.

"Of…" Anna continued.

"...our marriage!" Anna and Hans said, happily.

"Marriage?" Elsa asked with wide eyes.

The group was also shocked at this as well. They didn't think that Anna would want to marry someone she had just met tonight.

"Yes!" Anna smiled.

"I'm sorry, I'm confused." Elsa apologized.

"Well, we haven't worked out all the details ourselves. We'll need a few days to plan the ceremony. Of course we'll have soup, roast, and ice cream and then-" Anna paused and turned to Hans, "Wait. Would we live here?"

"Here?" Elsa asked.

"Absolutely!" Hans added, holding Anna's hands.

"Oh!" Anna squealed.

"Anna-" Elsa began to say.

"Oh, we can invite all twelve of your brothers to stay with us-" Anna suggested, ignoring Elsa.

"What? No, no, no, no, no." Elsa protested.

"Of course we have the room. I don't know. Some of them must-" Anna continued.

"Wait. Slow down." Elsa interrupted, "No one's brothers are staying here. No one is getting married." Elsa concluded.

"Wait, what?" Anna asked as she turned to Elsa.

"May I talk to you, please. Alone." Elsa requested.

"No. Whatever you have to say, you-you can say to both of us." Anna said as she hooked her arm with Hans.

"Fine. You can't marry a man you just met." Elsa stated.

"You can if it's true love." Anna retorted.

"Anna, what do you know about true love?" Elsa questioned her sister.

"More than you. All you know is how to shut people out." Anna said.

Elsa was surprised by Anna's words and soon recollected herself.

"You asked for my blessing, but my answer is no. Now, excuse me." Elsa excused herself as she began to walk away.

"Your Majesty, if I may ease your-" Hans started.

"No, you may not. And I-I think you should go." Elsa interrupted, flustered.

Then she walked away from Anna and Hans. She ordered the Royal Handler to end the party and close the gates. The group noticed Anna running towards her sister and grabbing Elsa's hand only for glove to come off which Elsa insisted Anna giving it back to her.

"Elsa, please. Please. I can't live like this anymore!" Anna pleaded, desperately.

"...Then leave." Elsa said, sadly.

Anna felt like she had been stabbed in the heart. The party went silent as all of the other guests were turning their attention towards the sisters. Rapunzel, Eugene, and the riders had a feeling that something bad was going to happen. Elsa turned and walked away.

"What did I ever do to you?!" Anna snapped, heartbroken.

"Enough, Anna." Elsa ordered.

"No. Why? Why do you shut me out?! Why do you shut the world out?! What are you so afraid of?!" Anna yelled.

"I said, enough!" Elsa ordered as ice shot from her hand, spikes across the floor forming a circle around her. Guests cried out and backed away in shock. Rapunzel, Eugene, Hiccup, Carlos, Audrey, and Merida gasped when they saw the ice.

"_Sorcery_. I knew there was something dubious going on here." The Duke of Weselton said, backing behind one of his henchmen.

"Elsa...?" Anna asked with disbelief.

Elsa rushed out of the room.

* * *

A few moments later, snow began to fall around the castle. More of the guests began to pour out of the throne room. This confused everyone as the temperature began to drop. Then Princess Anna and Hans came back into the courtyard as they moved through the panicked crowd.

"Are you all right?" Hans asked, walking behind Anna.

"No." Anna replied, shocked, rubbing her arms.

"Did you know?" Hans asked, caught up to her.

"No." Anna answered, worriedly.

Nearby, the Duke was fluttering about in fright.

"Look! It's snowing! It's snowing! The Queen has cursed this land! She must be stopped!" The Duke grabbed one of his henchmen's ears and pulled him down to his level, "You have to go after her."

"Wait, no!" Anna pleaded him. The Duke hid behind his henchmen and pointed out at Anna.

"You! Is there sorcery in you, too? Are you a monster, too?!" The Duke asked quickly in fear.

"No. No. I'm completely ordinary." Anna said innocently.

"That's right she is..." He trailed off as he placed his hand on her shoulder before he realized how bad that sounded. "...in the best way." He added quickly.

"...And my sister's not a monster." Anna stated firmly now looking back to the Duke.

"She nearly killed me!" The Duke snapped back.

"You slipped on ice." Hans stated calmly.

"_Her_ ice!" The Duke countered.

"It was an accident. She was scared...She didn't mean it. She didn't mean any of this... Tonight was my fault. I pushed her. So...I'm the one that needs to go after her." Anna said firmly as she moved towards the royal guard.

"Yes. Fine. Do." The Duke stated calmly.

"What?" Hans asked as he followed Anna.

"Bring me my horse, please." Anna asked the guard, he bowed and went to get her horse for her.

"Anna, no. It's too dangerous." Hans protested to her.

"Elsa's not dangerous. I'll bring her back, and I'll make this right." Anna said while the royal handler brought Anna her horse and a cloak.

"I'm coming with you." Hans insisted holding her hand.

"No, I need you here to take care of Arendelle." Anna smiled gently, Hans saw the desperation in her eyes.

"...On my honor." Hans nodded to her as she threw on the cloak and hopped right onto the horse.

Anna, now facing the crowd of worried citizens, announced, "I leave Prince Hans in charge!"

"Are you sure you can trust her? I don't want you getting hurt..." Hans said with worry before he released Anna's hand.

"She's my sister; she would _never_ hurt me." Anna said with confidence to him, he stepped back and nodded again.

She snapped the reins and rode out on her horse leaving everyone watching her while the snow picked up around them until Anna was out of sight. Rapunzel and Eugene turned to the dragon riders.

"Go and help Princess Anna in any way you can." Rapunzel requested.

"Don't worry, we will." Hiccup said.

Rapunzel and Eugene nodded at that. The dragon riders left the castle and carefully ran on the ice back to the boat. Once they were on board, they went to their dragons and told them of the situation as they quickly changed out of their coronation outfits and put on more suitable clothes. Then they put the saddles on their dragons and flew out of the ship to help the young princess.

* * *

_Ice contains no future, just the past, sealed away. As if they're alive, everything in the world is sealed up inside, clear and distinct. Ice can preserve all kinds of things that way- cleanly, clearly. That's the essence of ice, the role it plays. _― Haruki Murakami


	36. The Ice Seller and The Talking Snowman

Chapter 36: The Ice Seller and the Talking Snowman

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

The riders went off into the next morning to find Princess Anna. Figuring that she had never really been outside of the castle, she wouldn't know much about traveling through the mountains. Not to mention that she didn't bring any equipment or supplies with her. But then night began to fall for our riders until one of them spotted a light moving in the forest. So they decided to follow it. The sound of wolves and two people arguing were heard and the dragons flew faster. Soon enough, they saw a massive gorge and a sled, lead by a reindeer, with two people on it, heading towards it.

"Get ready to jump, Sven!" Anna yelled, seeing the gorge up ahead.

"You don't tell him what to do!" Kristoff shoved a satchel into her arms then scooped her up. "I do!" Kristoff tossed Anna onto Sven, then unhooked Sven's harness from the sled, "Jump, Sven!" Kristoff ordered.

Sven jumped the gorge with Anna on his back while Kristoff goes flying off behind them, still on the sled. Anna and Sven landed safely on the other side of the gorge. Kristoff's sled began to lose momentum. Knowing the man might not get to the other side, Aileana flapped her wings harder and at the last second, Aileana caught the man before he could hit the edge of the snow slope. She glided further up the slope and gently dropped him in the snow. The riders landed beside Aileana and ran over to him. But he quickly got up and goes to over to the edge and saw his sled in pieces. The others looked over the edge and saw the sled burst into flames.

"But I just paid it." Kristoff whined as he stood up and flew on his back and covered his face with his hands.

"So the sled was worth more than your life?" Carlos asked, brow arched.

He got a groan from the man in response. Anna walked over to Kristoff.

"I'll replace your sled and everything in it," Anna breathed heavy. Kristoff groaned. "And I...understand if you don't want to help me anymore." Anna walked off, sadly. Sven came over and nuzzled Kristoff.

"Of course I don't want to help her anymore. In fact, this whole thing has ruined me for helping anyone ever again." Kristoff sighed as he argued with himself acting with Sven's voice.

"But she'll die on her own." He said in Sven's made up voice. "I can live with that." Kristoff added normally. Through their conversation, they watched Anna go the wrong way...turned, go the other wrong way, turned, tripped, "But you won't get your new sled if she's dead.?..." Kristoff said in Sven's voice. Knowing he's got a point, "...You know sometimes I really don't like you." Kristoff mumbled, Sven licked Kristoff happily. Kristoff turned to the left and saw Hiccup right in front of him.

"What?" Kristoff asked.

"You talk to a reindeer?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah, what of it?" Kristoff questioned.

"Don't you find that a little strange?" Hiccup pondered.

"No, but who are you?" Kristoff asked and then he spotted Toothless beside him. He quickly scooted and pointed at the dragon, "And what the heck is that?!"

Hiccup turned to Toothless who gave him an innocent look of confusion.

"My name's Hiccup and this is my dragon friend, Toothless and Sharpshot."

"**Nice to meet you**." Toothless and Sharpshot said.

"I'm Merida and this is Aileana." Merida said.

"I'm Carlos and this is Cielo." Carlos said.

"I'm Audrey and this is Quicksilver." Audrey said.

"Pleasure to meet you all." Anna greeted, "I'm Anna."

"Likewise." Carlos said.

"So who are you two?" Audrey asked.

"Kristoff and this is Sven." Kristoff gestured himself and the reindeer next to him.

Kristoff was tall and muscular with fair skin and light freckles along with short blond hair and light brown eyes.

"**I find it strange that he voices the reindeer even though he can't understand him.**" Toothless commented.

"**Very strange indeed.**" Sharpshot added.

"I fully agree with you." Hiccup said.

Then he noticed that Kristoff was looking at him strangely.

"What?" Hiccup asked.

"Isn't strange that you can talk to a dragon?" Kristoff asked.

"No, you talk to a reindeer. Isn't that strange?" Hiccup asked.

"Touche`." Kristoff agreed.

"So...these are real dragons?" Anna asked as she stood next to Merida.

"Yup." Merida replied as Aileana turned her head to the side and gazed at Anna.

"Wow." Anna awed at Aileana as she held her hand out to her while Aileana nudged her snout into Anna's gloved hand.

"So which way are we headed?" Carlos asked.

"You're coming with us?" Anna asked.

"Of course." Audrey said.

"Also, Princess Rapunzel requested that we help you." Hiccup added.

"Wait, you know Princess Rapunzel?" Anna asked, turning to Hiccup.

"Sure do." Carlos added.

"Well then, let's get going." Anna declared.

"Hold up. We're coming!" Kristoff called to her.

"You are?!" Anna asked excitedly, then calmed down clearing her throat a bit and caught herself. "I mean, sure. We'll let you tag along."

Kristoff only sighed with a smile shaking his head as he stood up while brushing himself off and the three of them along with the dragon riders and their dragons walked together towards the Northern Mountain.

* * *

After a long night of traveling non stop. Kristoff, Sven, Anna, the riders, and their dragons walked on a narrow rim of a mountain. While they walked, Anna saw a clearing and walked towards it. As they stepped out of the thick trees, Anna caught sight of something far below and she gasped while Kristoff and the others came beside her to look at what caught her eye.

"Arendelle..." She whispered out.

"It's completely frozen." Kristoff pointed out slowly.

"...But it'll be fine. Elsa will thaw it." Anna said firmly believing such.

"Will she?" Kristoff asked looking at Anna gently.

Anna nods a little uncertain.

"Yeah. Now come on. This way to the North Mountain?" She pointing straight ahead.

Kristoff laughed shaking his head at her.

"More like this way." He move her arm up so she points her finger up towards a perilously mighty mountain.

"Oh boy." Carlos muttered.

After a few more hours, they reached and area where they were beneath frozen willows. The hanging branches glisten like Christmas lights. Sven knocked them with his antlers. They tinkled like chimes.

"I never knew winter could be so beautiful." Anna smiled softly looking at it all.

Suddenly, a voice came in from nowhere. "Yeah...It really is beautiful, isn't it? But it's so white. You know, how about a little color? Must we bleach the joy out of it all? I'm thinking like maybe some crimson, chartreuse..."

While this is going on, Anna, Kristoff, the riders, and their dragons looked around for the source of the rambling. They looked at Sven who looked back at them, his antlers tangled in branches, just as baffled as they are. In the meantime, a nose-less snowman, wanders up behind them.

"How 'bout yellow-no, not yellow. Yellow and snow? Brrrr...no go." He stopped between Kristoff and Anna. They look down at him. He suddenly looked up at Anna.

"Am I right?" He asked.

Anna screamed as her reflexes take over and she kicked the snowman's head, sending it flying off his body and into Kristoff's arms.

"Hi!" The little snowman said happily to Kristoff now.

"You're creepy." Kristoff tossed the head back to Anna and they commence a game of hot potato or in this case, cold talking snowman head.

"I don't want it!" Anna tossed it back

"Back at chya!" Kristoff returned it to her.

"Please don't drop me." The snowman asked as his body ran towards Anna, arms waving, and then said calmly, "All right, we got off to a bad start."

"Ew, ew, the body!" Anna threw the head back on the body, upside down. The snowman smiled happily, then looked confused.

"Wow, talking snowman. Now I've seen everything." Hiccup commented. The other riders and dragons agreed.

"Wait, what am I looking at right now? Why are you hanging off the earth like a bat?" The snowman asked as Anna sympathetically knelt in front of the snowman and turned his head around the right way. "Oooh! Thank you!" He said smiling now.

"You're welcome." Anna replied gently to him.

"Now I'm perfect." The snowman gleamed looking over himself.

Anna looked over his innocent face and got an idea.

"Well, almost." Anna said while she dug into Kristoff's satchel, held up a carrot just as the snowman turned toward her. The carrot accidentally slammed all the way through his head. The others winced at that.

"Woo! Head rush!" The snowman said, wobbling a bit.

"Oh! Too hard. I'm sorry! I-I, I was just... Are you okay?" Anna asked quickly as the snowman saw a tiny piece of carrot sticking out between his eyes. He lit up at the sight of it.

"Are you kidding me? I am wonderful! I've always wanted a nose." He went cross-eyed to look at his tiny nose, "So cute. It's like a little baby unicorn." He touched it lightly as Anna reached behind him to the bulk of the carrot sticking out the back of his head and pushed it forward. "What? Hey! Whoa." He now saw his now big nose, "Oh, I love it even more! Hah...All right, let's start this thing over. Hi everyone. I'm Olaf. And I like warm hugs." The snowman now named Olaf introduced himself with his arms opened wide to Anna.

"Olaf?..." Anna questioned the snowman until her eyes lit up, "That's right. Olaf!"

"...And you are?" Olaf asked, confused.

"Oh, um...I'm Anna." She greeted softly smiling to him.

"And who's the funky-looking donkey over there?" Olaf asked curiously, looking at Kristoff and Sven.

"That's Sven." Anna said.

"Uh-huh. And who's the reindeer?" Olaf questioned her, Anna blinked a little.

"...Sven." She replied.

Olaf looked from Kristoff to Sven, confused.

"Oh. They're-oh, okay..." He said now accepting it, "Makes things easier for me." Olaf beamed while Sven tried to bite Olaf's nose. "Ha. Aw, look at him tryin' to kiss my nose. I like you, too!" Olaf said happily.

Then he noticed the riders and the dragons.

"Who are you guys?" Olaf asked, pointing at them.

"Hiccup and this is Toothless and Sharpshot."

"Carlos and Cielo."

"Merida and Aileana."

"Audrey and Quicksilver."

"Olaf, did Elsa build you?" Anna asked him now, turning his attention towards her.

"Yeah. Why?" Olaf responded while a curious Kristoff took one of Olaf's twig arms off and studied it. It seemed to be moving in sync with his other arm.

"Do you know where she is?" Anna asked with hope in her voice.

"Fascinating..." Kristoff commented, now studying the arm.

"Yeah. Why?" Olaf said again.

"Do you think you could show us the way?" Anna smiled wide to the snowman.

"Yeah. Why?" Olaf repeated for the third time in response.

"How does this work?" He asked, bending the twig arm before it slapped Kristoff across the face.

"Stop it, Sven. Trying to focus here." Olaf stated firmly taking his arm back and putting it in place before turning to Anna again, "Yeah, why?"

"I'll tell you why. We need Elsa to bring back summer." Kristoff responded to the snowman now.

"Summer?" Olaf asked, shocked, before sinking into wistfulness, "Oh, I don't know why but I've always loved the idea of summer, and sun, and all things hot." Olaf said in a whisper of curiosity and delight.

"Really? I'm guessing you don't have much experience with heat." Kristoff remarked sarcastically as Anna shot him a glare.

"Nope. But sometimes I like to close my eyes and imagine what it'd be like when summer does come." Olaf wandered into a dream like state thinking about Summer.

"I'm gonna tell him." Kristoff grinned, Anna smacked his arm hard.

"Don't you dare." Anna warned him.

Olaf then straightened up and smiled.

"So, come on! Elsa's this way. Let's go bring back summer!" Olaf grabbed Anna's hand and pulled her along up the mountain.

"I'm coming!" Anna laughed and then Sven hopped along, happily following them. The riders and dragons looked at the trio and shrugged. Then followed after them. Kristoff watched all of them like they're nuts.

"Somebody's gotta tell him." Kristoff said in disbelief and soon followed the rest of the group along the mountain.

* * *

_In winter, the stars seem to have rekindled their fires, the moon achieves a fuller triumph, and the heavens wear a look of a more exalted simplicity. Summer is more wooing and seductive, more versatile and human, appeals to the affections and the sentiments, and fosters inquiry and the art impulse. _\- John Burroughs


	37. The Ice Palace

Chapter 37: The Ice Palace

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

Anna, Kristoff, Sven, Olaf, the riders, and dragons move through hostile terrain. Windswept icicles face horizontal.

"So how exactly are you planning to stop this weather?" Kristoff asked while they're walking through the area.

"Oh, I am gonna talk to my sister." Anna declared with the utmost confidence in her voice.

"That's your plan? My ice business is riding on you talking to your sister." Kristoff said in disbelief.

"Yup." Anna said simply.

Kristoff, so stunned by her casual plan, doesn't look where he's going and ended up with an ice-spike to the nose. He stopped short, gulping, moved carefully around the spike.

"So you're not at all afraid of her?" Kristoff asked, blinking a little nervously.

"Why would I be?" Anna retorted while still walking.

"Yeah. I bet she's the nicest, gentlest, warmest person ever." Olaf said as he backed right into an icicle. It ran through his torso. "Oh, look at that. I've been impaled." He laughed it off.

Anna and Kristoff along with the riders and dragons stopped what looks like a dead end. The face of the mountain goes straight up.

"What now?" Anna asked looking at Kristoff for a solution. Kristoff looked around, sighed now digging in his rucksack.

"...It's too steep. I've only got one rope and you don't know how to climb mountains." Kristoff said in a matter of fact tone.

"Says who?" Sven nudged Kristoff, who looked up and saw Anna trying to climb the cliff's flat face. Finding her actions ridiculous.

"What are you doing?" Kristoff asked.

"...I'm going...to see...my sister." Anna strained to climb the cliff.

"You're going to kill yourself." Kristoff watched her searching for footholds and handholds. "I wouldn't put my foot there..." He stated.

"You're distracting me." Anna mumbled out.

"Or there. How do you know Elsa even wants to see you?" Kristoff asked her.

"All right. I'm just blocking you out cause I gotta concentrate here." Anna said trying to get her footing right.

"You know, most people who disappear into the mountains want to be alone." Kristoff mentioned watching with amusement now.

"Nobody wants to be alone. Except maybe you–..." Anna trailed off with a grunt losing her foot hold.

"I'm not alone... I have friends, remember?" Kristoff remarked watching Anna kick a foot above her head to catch a foothold.

"You mean the love experts?" Anna rolled her eyes sarcastically.

"Yes, the love experts." Kristoff smiled wide. Anna realized she's stuck.

"...Please tell me I'm almost there." In truth she's only about six feet up. Her muscles shaking, "...Does the air seem a bit thin to you up here?" Anna panted.

Kristoff smiled, getting a kick out of her.

"Hang on..." He pulled the rope from his bag. Just then Olaf stepped out from behind a rock and waved to Kristoff.

"Hey, Sven? Not sure if this is going to solve the problem, but I found a staircase that leads exactly where you want it to go." Olaf informed him.

"Ha ha. Thank goodness. Catch!" Anna threw herself back off the cliff and Kristoff caught her bridal style. "Thanks! That was like a crazy trust exercise." She hopped down, brushes off her dress, and bounds off.

Kristoff watched after her, digging her fearless pluck with a smile and followed through the spot in the cliff. The group approached Elsa's elegant ice palace.

"Whoa." Anna said in awe admiring the ice palace.

"Now that's ice. I might cry." Kristoff choked up a little smiling with wide eyes.

"Go ahead. I won't judge." Anna climbed the steps with Olaf.

"A castle made of ice. Maybe I haven't seen everything." Hiccup commented.

Sven tried to follow. His hooves slipped out. He scrambled but can't get traction. Kristoff ran to his aide.

"All right, take it easy. I gotcha." Kristoff settled Sven back down the stairs and pats him. "You stay right here, buddy." Sven obediently plopped his reindeer butt down and wagged his tail. Kristoff climbed the stairs, admiring the ice details. "...Flawless." Kristoff breathed out.

"You guys should stay here." Hiccup said to the dragons.

"**Why?**" Quicksilver warbled.

"Seeing how Sven couldn't get up the stairs, it's best to assume that you probably won't either." Hiccup replied, pointing at the stairs with his thumb.

"**Fair point.**" Aileana agreed.

The dragons sat down, knowing that they had to stay where they were. The riders patted their dragons on the head and went up the stairs and were quite amazed at the ice details too. Anna arrived at the door with a hand up ready to knock, but hesitated.

"...Knock..." Olaf told her gently. Anna doesn't, "Just knock..." Olaf said again. Still, Anna hesitated on knocking. "Why isn't she knocking...? Do you think she knows how to knock?" Olaf asked looking at Kristoff now.

Suddenly, Anna knocked and the sound echoed inside. The ice doors slide open slowly.

"Ha. It opened. That's a first..." Anna went to step in. Kristoff followed with the others behind him. But she stopped them.

"You all should...probably wait out here." Anna said shyly.

"What?" Kristoff asked her.

"Last time I introduced her to a guy, she froze everything." Anna shrugged smiling a little.

"But, but...Oh come on! It's a palace made of ice. Ice is my life!" Kristoff complained whining softly.

"Bye, Sven!" Olaf started to head inside. Anna stopped him too.

"You too, Olaf." Anna said gently kneeling down to his level.

"Me?" Olaf asked, sadly.

"Just give us a minute." Anna asked all of them. Olaf nodded to her.

"Okay." He replied as Anna walked inside with the doors shut behind her while Kristoff and Olaf sat down and began counting to sixty.

"Do you think she's going to be okay?" Audrey asked.

"We can only hope so." Carlos said.

Soon enough, sixty seconds was up and Olaf went inside the palace. They tried to stop him, but the little snowman sure was fast on his feet. At that moment they didn't know what to do. Then Merida suggested that they peeked through the door. They heard Anna talking to someone who was probably her sister. The sound of hurried footsteps caught their attention. But sounded like Anna was trying to convince her sister of something. The sound of a door opening at the top also caught their attention. Kristoff couldn't stand it anymore and pushed open the doors and ran after Anna. The riders got on their dragons and quickly flew onto the balcony where they saw Anna kneeling on the floor, holding her stomach and Elsa with her back towards her. Elsa turned around and gasped when she saw Anna kneeling on the floor.

"Anna!" Kristoff yelled as he slid to the floor and helped Anna to her feet while the riders got off their dragons ran to Anna's side, "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. I'm fine." Anna said.

"Who are all of these people?" Elsa asked and then shook her head, "Wait, it doesn't matter. Just...You have to go."

"No," Anna protested, "I know we can figure this out together."

"How!? What power do you have to stop this winter? To stop me!" Elsa yelled.

Kristoff and the riders noticed spiky ice shadows creeping down the walls and Kristoff puts a protective arm around Anna. Toothless and the other dragons crooned with worry.

"I–I think we should go..." Kristoff warned them.

"No. I'm not leaving without you, Elsa." Anna stood firmly.

"Yes...you are." Elsa said heartbroken as waved her arms and built a giant, menacing snowman whose eyes flowed a light blue as it roared at them. Anna's, Kristoff's, Olaf's, and the riders' eyes all widened as Elsa's figure disappeared behind the massive snowman. Merida pulled Anna on the back of Aileana while Carlos pulled Kristoff on Cielo.

"Hold on! Let's go everyone!" Hiccup ordered as he and the other riders whipped around before the giant snowman could get them and speeding off outside and back to the main level before the ice staircase where Sven was waiting with his tongue stuck to the ice. The massive snowman opened the doors to Elsa's ice palace and glared at them as he threw Olaf's head down.

"Heads up!" Olaf warned as Kristoff who was off Cielo and Anna who was now off Aileana ducked down and Olaf's head landed against a snowy rock, they went to stand up again as he warned, "Watch out for my butt!"

They ducked again. Anna grumbled as she picked up some snow to roll it into a ball.

"It is not nice to throw people!" She yelled going to throw it but Kristoff and Audrey held her back and she grunted a few times trying to get free.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, feisty pants. Okay, relax. Just calm down! Just let the snowman be..." Kristoff told her quickly.

"Okay. I'm calm..." She trailed off as Kristoff and Audrey let her go. Anna backed down...for a moment. Then she threw the snowball at the snowman. Silence as the tiny little ball hits his back, not making even the slightest dent. But it was enough to infuriate him. He roared out while spikes shot out of his joints.

"Uh-oh. Now you made him mad!" Kristoff yelled as Anna and him prepared to back up.

"I'll distract Marshmallow. You guys go." Olaf said. Then everyone ran past him and soon after his stomach and butt part of his body ran off, "No, no! Not you guys!" The giant snow monster walked past Olaf whose head fell into the snow, "This just got a whole lot harder."

Anna, Kristoff, and the riders leapt and slid down a steep slope. They tumbled to a stop at the bottom just as Marshmallow, now called by Olaf, landed hard right behind them. They went off again through a maze of conifer trees that sagged under the weight of the snow with Marshmallow hot on their trail. The dragons were gliding beside them.

"This way!" Kristoff told them quickly.

"Anna, the trees!" Merida and Audrey yelled to her.

Anna understood with a smile and grabbed a branch of a sagging trees which released all of the snow. Merida and Audrey does the same as the other riders and dragons walked backwards pulling the tree down, as soon as Marshmallow was in range.

"Now!" Carlos yelled.

They all released the branches and the tree snapped upright, knocking Marshmallow back. Kristoff blinked in surprise but was also impressed it had worked.

"Ho-ho-ho!" Audrey cheered as the keep running with her fist in the air triumphantly.

"We got him!" Anna cheered with her.

They burst out of the conifer forest and almost ran right off a cliff. They stopped short, toes on the edge. The dragons landed behind them.

"Whoa, stop!" Kristoff shouted quickly as they all looked down.

"It's a hundred foot drop..." Anna pants with worry.

"It's two hundred." Kristoff and Hiccup said together.

The riders quickly got on their dragons and were about to convince Kristoff and Anna to get on as well. Kristoff declined and rather go the old fashioned way. He pulled his rope out then tied the rope around Anna and pulled tight.

"Ow." Anna winced. Kristoff dropped to his knees and started digging a u-shape in the snow with a pick axe.

"What's that for?" Anna asked watching curiously with the others who were also quite confused.

"I'm digging a snow anchor." Kristoff informed her quickly.

"Might wanna hurry it up!" Merida warned looking back hearing the heavy footsteps of Marshmallow coming through the conifer tree forest.

"Okay. What if we fall?" Anna questioned.

"There's twenty feet of fresh powder down there; it'll be like landing on a pillow...Hopefully..." Kristoff mumbled unsure of those facts himself. They hear an angry roar coming closer.

"Anna. On three." Kristoff told her as Anna prepped for the jump like a boxer getting ready to fight.

"Okay. You tell me when..." Anna said firmly.

"One..." Kristoff began counting.

"...I'm ready to go..." Anna said looking down moving back and forth a bit.

"Two..." Kristoff continued.

"...I was BORN ready! Yes!" Anna is all pumped up now.

"Calm down." Kristoff informed her clearly not wanting to do this. A huge tree flies through the air toward them.

"TREE!" Anna jumped and pulled Kristoff over the edge with her.

They hang upside down over the cliff by the rope but the rope caught their fall. Thankfully.

"Whoa! That happened!" Kristoff said.

Back up top, Hiccup and the other riders looked over the edge for them.

"Are you two alright?" Carlos asked quickly.

Then the riders saw Olaf emerging from the woods. He was a complete mess, all his body parts are in the wrong places. He huffed and puffs, struggling to run.

"Ah. Ah. Man, am I out of shape." Olaf said then he stopped and put his body back together in the right order. "There we go. Hey, Anna! Sven! Where'd ya guys go? We totally lost Marshmallow back there!" Olaf announced.

"No you didn't..." Hiccup stated to the snowman. Marshmallow stepped up behind Olaf who turned to face him. "Hey! We were just talking about you. All good things, all good things..." Olaf said happily to him but Marshmallow roared and approached Kristoff's snow anchor. "NO!" Olaf jumped onto Marshmallow's leg trying to stop him, but not making much of a difference. "This is not making much of a difference!" Olaf told himself. Marshmallow flicked Olaf off his leg and right over the cliff.

"WHOA!" Olaf yelled and passed Anna and Kristoff.

"Olaf!" Anna yelled trying to reach for him but he kept falling.

"Hang in there, guys!" Olaf called before vanishing from sight.

"Go. Go faster!" Anna said.

Suddenly, they stopped.

"Wait, what?" Anna said looking up and saw Marshmallow yanking Kristoff and Anna's rope up, which caused the rope to swing and made Kristoff's head hit the cliff.

"Aargghh!" Kristoff passed out and hung like a rag doll.

"Kristoff!" Anna said with worry while Marshmallow pulled them up then roared and breathed snow all over them.

"Don't come back!" Marshmallow yelled at them.

"We won't." Anna whipped out a knife from Kristoff's belt and cut the rope. Kristoff came to just as they fell, both screaming with fear. The dragon riders quickly dived over the cliff towards the bottom. They lost visual for second because of the snow and were about to catch them when they saw the approaching ground. They had no other choice but to do a tuck and roll which made the riders fall off their dragons and land into the snow, unharmed, missing Anna and Kristoff.

Anna opened her eyes to find herself buried up to her shoulders in the soft thick snow.

"Hey, you were right. Just like a pillow. Olaf!" Anna said then looked up to see Olaf's upper half hanging onto Kristoff's boots, which were sticking out of the snow. Olaf now began shaking the boots.

"I can't feel my legs! I can't feel my legs!" Olaf shouted worriedly. Suddenly, Kristoff's head popped up. He spat out snow.

"Those are _my_ legs." Kristoff grumbled as Olaf's bottom came running by.

"Ooh. Hey, do me a favor, grab my butt." Olaf said to Kristoff who grabbed Olaf's head and put it on his body. "Oh, that feels better." Sven walked up and sniffed Olaf's nose. "Hey, Sven!" Olaf turned to Anna and Kristoff just as Sven goes to bite off his nose and missed. "He found us. Who's my cute little reindeer?" Olaf said in a cute voice.

"Don't talk to him like that." Kristoff went over to help Anna, who's stuck in the snow while the dragons helped their riders out of the snow and the riders dusted themselves off.

"Here." He lifted Anna out easily.

"Whoa!" Anna said impressed with how easily he pulled her out.

"You okay?" Kristoff asked her softly.

"Thank you." Anna replied calmly as their eyes met, "How's your head?" She touched the spot where he banged his head.

"Ah! Ooh!" He groaned then he caught himself and waved off the pain with a giggle. "I mean, It's fine. Ah...I'm good. Ha. I've got a thick skull." Kristoff added quickly.

"I don't have a skull...Or bones." Olaf stated quietly staring at them as the riders arched their brows at this.

"So, uh...So, now what?" Kristoff asked shyly.

Anna feeling shy as well, "Now what?" Then she began to panic with wide eyes. "Now what?! Oh! What am I gonna do? She threw me out. I can't go back to Arendelle with the weather like this. And then there's your ice business-"

"Hey, hey. Don't worry about my ice business," Kristoff assured her before his eyes widened when he noticed something, "Worry about your hair!"

"What? I just fell off a cliff. You should see your hair." Anna pointed out.

"Not that way, lass." Merida interjected, shaking her palms out in front.

"Yours is turning _white_." Kristoff stated now.

"White? It's...what?" Anna asked as she grabbed her braid and saw a tendril turned white.

"It's because she struck you, isn't it?" Kristoff asked.

"Does it look bad?" Anna asked, nervously looking to Kristoff and the riders now.

"...No." Kristoff and the riders replied uneasily after minute. Toothless gave a weak gummy like smile. Olaf's head popped up. He held his head up off his body to join the conversation.

"You hesitated." Olaf stated.

"No, I didn't." Kristoff said quickly, "Anna, you need help. Now, come on."

Kristoff started walking, heading towards the sunset. Anna, Sven, Olaf, the riders, and the dragons followed after him.

"Okay! Where are we going?" Olaf asked curiously.

"To see my friends." Kristoff replied simply.

"The love experts?" Anna asked.

"Love experts?!" The riders and Olaf said together a little surprised.

"Yes. And don't worry; they'll be able to fix this." Kristoff smiled.

"How do you know?" Anna responded wondering how he is so sure of himself. Kristoff gazed at her, remembering the moment he saw the trolls heal an orange haired child when he was little.

"...Because I've seen them do it before." Kristoff answered firmly. As they round the bend, the sunsets while Kristoff lead them to the troll's home.

"I like to consider myself a love expert." Olaf admitted, when he turned to the others.

Sven grunted in agreement.

"**Right.**" The dragons said, sarcastically.

* * *

_Sisters are different flowers from the same garden. _\- Unknown


	38. Trolls

Chapter 38: Trolls

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

The Northern Lights are bright overhead and Olaf stared at them in awe as he rode on Sven's back.

"Look, Sven, the sky's awake." Olaf said.

Behind Olaf and Sven, Anna walked beside Kristoff while the riders and dragons were behind them. Anna was already shivering.

"Are you cold?" Kristoff asked her.

"A little." Anna replied.

Kristoff reached out like he might put an arm around her, but decided against it. He looked around as if he doesn't know what to do, then gets a thought.

"Uh...Wait. Come here." He walked them around a bend into a rock-lined pass. Steam vents, powered by the volcanic activity, dot the path. He held her hands over one of them.

"Oooh... That's nice." Anna said smiling as they continued on the path, walking from vent to vent.

Taking a deep breath, "So, about my friends...well, I say friends, they're more like family... Anyway, when I was a kid, it was just me and Sven...until they took me in." Kristoff began to explain to Anna.

Hiccup and the others stayed quiet while listening to Kristoff.

"They did?" Anna asked surprised.

"Yeah. I don't want to scare you, they can be a little bit inappropriate...and loud...very loud...they're also stubborn at times, and a little overbearing. And heavy. Really, really heavy." Kristoff nervously rambled, "But they're fine.. You'll get it. They mean well." He said afterwards. Anna touched Kristoff's arm, reassuringly.

"Kristoff, they sound wonderful." Anna told him smiling. Kristoff smiled, appreciating her sincerity.

"Okay then..." Mustering the courage, Kristoff stepped forward and with a wave of the arms announced– "Meet my family." Anna, Olaf, the dragons and their riders all blinked seeing that Kristoff is surrounded by rocks. "Hey, guys!" As Kristoff and Sven moved through the rocks, waving and greeting, Olaf, Anna, and the others stood frozen, dumbfounded.

"...They're rocks." Anna said to no one in particular, more of a self realization.

"He's crazy..." Olaf said slowly and then leaned in to Anna to whisper, "I'll distract them while you run." Olaf wandered through the rocks with a smile, "Hi, Sven's family! It's nice to meet you!" Olaf beamed, acting to be happy to meet these 'family' members of Kristoff's, whom Olaf has firmly believed is named Sven like the reindeer. "Anna, because I love you, I insist you run." Olaf whispered to her before turning to the rock before him. "I understand you're love experts!" Olaf said, "Why aren't you running?!" Olaf asked quickly.

"Anna...this lad took a hard hit to the head." Merida pointed out.

"We should...just get back to the castle." Carlos suggested.

"I fully agree with you." Hiccup agreed.

Then Audrey came up beside Anna who snapped out of her shock and started backing away towards the riders.

"Okay. Um...We're gonna go–..." Anna started as she turns to leave with the riders. Just then the rocks around her start rolling. "Ah! Kristoff!" Anna exclaimed.

"What's going on?" Hiccup yelled.

"How are we supposed to know?!" Audrey shouted.

Olaf lite up and chased the rocks, who surrounded Kristoff and unfold to reveal they're trolls.

"KRISTOFF'S HOME!" One troll looked and smiled wide,

Now various trolls stated, "Kristoff! Kristoff's home! It's been too long! Kristoff's home!" Various trolls stated.

"Kristoff's home!" Olaf said as he jumped around excitedly. He then stopped, confused, and looked to one of the trolls. "Wait? Kristoff?"

Anna, the riders, and their dragons were shocked and confused at the creatures they were looking at. The trolls all want Kristoff's attention as one troll yanked him down with a boulder's strength.

"Oh, lemme look at you!" The troll said.

"Oh, take off your clothes, Kristoff; I wash them." Another troll tried to pull off his clothes.

"Ah! No. I'm gonna keep my clothes on, thank you." Kristoff blushed keeping his pants up and looking nervously at Anna.

"Wow, Gobber was right. Trolls _do _exist." Hiccup stated.

"**Yeah.**" Toothless warbled in agreement.

This discovery made everyone blinked in confusion. Hiccup didn't think trolls _actually_ existed. Boy, Gobber would get a kick out of this.

"For some strange reason, they reminded me of the Noblins back in Avalor." Carlos commented.

"**Now that you mentioned it, they do kinda remind me as well.**" Cielo agreed.

"Great to see you all. Where's Grand Pabbie?" Kristoff asks now.

"He's napping. But look, I grew a mushroom." Said one of the kid trolls with a mushroom on his back.

"And I earned my fire crystal." Said a troll scout proudly.

"I passed a kidney stone." Said on older, bigger troll now.

"Pick me up." Said one kid troll. The kid troll jumps up on Kristoff's arm and Kristoff sinks under the weight of him. Anna still stares, confused, then realized.

"Trolls? They're trolls..." Anna said quietly. Silence.

All troll eyes turn to Anna. Blink. Blink.

"...He's brought a girl!" Announced a female troll happily.

"He's brought a girl!" The others yelled out, suddenly Anna was surrounded by trolls. They body-surf/rolled Anna over to Kristoff. She fell into his arms.

"What's going on?" Anna asked confused.

"I've learned to just roll with it." Kristoff responded with a shrug. The female who originally noticed Anna now climbs on top of her husband, Cliff, to get a good look at Anna. She studies her like she's a piece of cattle.

"Let me see. Bright eyes. Working nose. Strong teeth. Yes, yes, yes. She'll do nicely for our Kristoff." The woman said happily.

"Wait. Oh. Um. No." Anna protested.

"You've got the wrong idea. That's not why we came here..." Kristoff nodded trying to protest as well.

"Right. We're not. I'm not–..." Anna laughed, uncomfortable, not knowing what to say.

The riders and their dragons were just standing there, not been noticed yet. Strange how no one would notice a group of people with dragons beside them.

"What's the issue, dear? Why are you holding back from such a man?" The troll woman asked as the others blinked a few times. "_Is it the clumpy way he walks? Or the grumpy way he talks? Or the pear-shaped, square-shaped weirdness of his feet? And though we know he washes well, he always ends up sorta smelly. But you'll never meet a fella who's as sensitive and sweet_."

"_So he's a bit of a fixer upper. So he's got a few flaws. His peculiar brain, dear, his thing for the reindeer. That's outside a few of nature's laws. So he's a bit of a fixer upper, but this we're certain of...You can fix this fixer upper with a little bit of love!_" The trolls chorused together.

"Can we just stop talking about this?! We've got a real, actual problem here." Kristoff stated quickly.

"I'll say..." The woman who started it all said. As various trolls begin asking more questions in sing song to Anna. "_Is it the way that he runs scared? Or that he's socially impaired? Or that he only likes to tinkle in the woods?" Said a kid troll as Anna stepped back. "I did not need to know that_." Anna noticed Kristoff blushing a little, Audrey and Carlos on the other hand only sighed while Merida and Hiccup closed their eyes and shook their heads.

"_Are you holding back your fondness...Due to his unmanly blondeness? Or the way he covers up that he's the honest goods?_" The trolls began again. "_He's just a bit of a fixer upper. He's got a couple of bugs..._"

"No I don't!" Kristoff protested quickly.

"_His isolation is confirmation, of his desperation for healing hugs! So he's a bit of a fixer upper. But we know what to do...The way to fix this fixer upper, is to fix him up with you!_" The trolls smiled.

"Stop it, stop it, enough!" Kristoff gets them to stop, "She is engaged to someone else okay?!" Kristoff yelled informatively.

"A rather quick engagement it is, though." Hiccup commented with his arms crossed.

The trolls blinked seeing Hiccup and Toothless along with the other riders and their dragons. Then the trolls huddled together.

"_So she's a bit of a fixer upper. That's a minor thing...This quote engagement is a flex arrangement...And by the way I don't see no ring._" Various trolls said now before un-huddling and looking at Kristoff.

"_So she's a bit of a fixer upper! Her brain's a bit betwixt...Get the fiance out of the way, and the whole thing will be fixed!_" The trolls sang in harmony as Kristoff face palmed in defeat. The male trolls tackled him down and put a moss cape on him, then a crown of moss, and sticks. The riders smacked their palms to their faces while the dragons groaned at the ignorant trolls who weren't listening to what Kristoff had just said and continued to think that Anna was Kristoff's fiance.

"_We aren't saying you can change him, 'cause people don't really change. We're only saying that love's a force that's powerful and strange. People make bad choices if they're mad or scared or stressed. But throw a little love their way, and you'll bring out their best..._" The woman troll sang softly to Anna, which made her listen carefully in understanding. The female trolls now begin to dress Anna with moss. Kristoff looked over at Anna. She actually looked shockingly beautiful dressed in moss, lit by shimmering crystals.

"_True love brings out the best! Everyone's a bit of a fixer upper. That's what it's all about! Father, sister, brother. We need each other...To raise us up and round us out._" The trolls sang out. By this time Kristoff and Anna are being ushered into a pit by the sheer force of numbers. "_Everyone's a bit of a fixer upper, but when push comes to shove..._" The trolls smiled as Olaf now jumped in.

"_The only fixer upper fixer that can fix a fixer upper is..." Olaf sang with them. "True. True. True. True love!_"

During this last bit Anna and Kristoff are looking at each other differently. Maybe those trolls are right? Sparks flew between the two as they smiled at each other.

"Do you, Anna, take Kristoff to be your trollfully wedded–..." The troll priest began as Anna and Kristoff's eyes widened in shock. The riders's mouths dropped open, now seeing where this was going.

"Wait, what?!" Anna exclaimed.

"You're getting married." The priest stated calmly.

"LOVE!" The trolls yelled in unison.

Just then before they can say anything else, Anna clutched her chest and collapsed breathing heavily. Kristoff caught her as she began shivering fiercely. The riders and dragons ran over to the edge of the pit with Sven beside them.

"She's cold like ice." Kristoff panted a little, looking around at the trolls for help. Grand Pabbie pushed his way through the crowd. Trolls cleared the way for Pabbie and he stopped in front of Anna and Kristoff.

"There's strange magic here!" Pabbie declared.

"Grand Pabbie!" Kristoff exclaimed.

"Bring her down to me, Kristoff." Pabbie instructed.

Kristoff helped bring Anna towards Pabbie who gently held her hands and looked up at her weak eyes.

"Anna, your life is in danger. There is ice in your heart, put there by your sister. If not removed, to solid ice will you freeze, forever." Pabbie told her as Kristoff and the riders's eyes widen at the news.

"What...? No." Anna said, weakly.

"But you can remove it, right?" Kristoff insisted quickly.

"I cannot. I'm sorry, Kristoff. If it was her head, that would be easy. But only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart." Pabbie told him.

"An act of true love?" Anna asked, looking at the trolls now.

"A true love's kiss, perhaps?" Offered the woman troll closest to them.

A bunch of trolls gave each other kisses. Anna shivered again, collapsing further down in Kristoff's arms as more of her hair turned white. This worried everyone else.

"Anna, we've got to get you back to Hans." Kristoff decided.

"Hans." Anna said.

"Pulls us out, Sven." Kristoff ordered.

Sven tilted his head, offering his antlers. Kristoff grabbed Sven's antlers and he pulled them out. Audrey came over and picked up Anna into her arms and mounted Quicksilver as Kristoff and Carlos mounted Cielo and Merida mounted Aileana.

"Aileana, you carry Sven. Olaf, come on!" Hiccup ordered as he mounted Toothless.

"I'm coming! Let's go kiss Hans!" Olaf yelled as he leaped onto the back of Hiccup and Aileana picked up Sven in her claws. Then the dragons went up into the sky and headed off to Adrendelle. Olaf was soon confused about something, "Who is this Hans?"

* * *

_True love can break the most powerful curse. - Jodi Picoult_


	39. Love Will Thaw

Chapter 39: Love Will Thaw

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

The dragons were flying high over the trees as they raced towards Arendelle. They had to get to Hans so that he could kiss her and help thaw her the ice in her heart. Anna shivered in Audrey's arms. The others could see that she was weakening.

"Come on, everyone, faster!" Hiccup ordered.

All of the dragons grunted and flapped their wings harder as they flew to the entrance to the castle gates. Aileana gently placed Sven back on the ground as the other dragons landed beside him. Kristoff dismounted Cielo and went over to Quicksilver. Audrey carefully handed Anna to Kristoff who carried her bridal style and walked towards the gate.

"It's Princess Anna!" A guard yelled.

"I've got you." Kristoff said to Anna.

"...Are you g-gonna be okay?" Anna shivered out.

"Don't worry about me." Kristoff reassured her.

Just then Gerda, Kai, and female servant another servant rushed to help Anna.

"Anna! Oh, you had us worried sick." Gerda said.

Kristoff helped Anna stand up as Gerda rushed towards her.

"My Lady. You are freezing." Kai said.

"Get her warm and find Prince Hans, immediately." Kristoff ordered.

"We will. Thank you." Kai thanked as he, Anna, Gerda, and the other female servant entered the castle.

"Make sure she's safe!" Kristoff yelled.

Gerda and the female servant guided Anna who glanced over her shoulder and stared at Kristoff until the castle gates closed on him. Kristoff stood there with Sven for a beat, staring with worry at the closed gates as Sven stood by his side. Finally, he sighed and placed his hand on Sven's neck, turned, and walked off. Sven stood at the gate and mooed sadly at it. Then he reluctantly followed. The dragons and their riders stared at Kristoff with worry.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine. Kristoff." Audrey reassured.

However Kristoff walked past her and the others with Sven behind him.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Carlos asked, staring at Kristoff.

"I don't know. But right now we better report to Rapunzel and Eugene." Hiccup stated.

"Right." Merida agreed.

The dragons stayed outside of the castle as the riders snuck back in and went to find Rapunzel and Eugene. They ran down the halls and spotted Kai and Gerda. They recognized the riders and led them to where the dignitaries and guards were. Rapunzel and Eugene were relieved when they spotted the riders.

"Hiccup! Carlos, Merida, Audrey, you're safe." Rapunzel said as she hugged the riders.

"Thank goodness that you are. We got so worried about you all." Eugene added.

"Never mind that! It's getting colder by the minute. If we don't do something soon, we'll freeze to death." The Duke of Weselton complained as he rubbed his arms and shivered.

"Gee, we didn't notice." Carlos muttered sarcastically as he and the riders rolled their eyes.

Hans came in, putting on his most distraught face.

"Prince Hans..." The Spanish Dignitary stated concerned when he and the others noticed him.

"Princess Anna is...dead." Hans admitted.

Everyone gasped with shock.

"What happened to her?" The Duke asked as he walked up to Hans.

Hans stumbled, weak with grief. The men helped him to a chair.

"She was killed...by Queen Elsa." Hans said.

"No!" The Duke gasped with the other dignitaries, "Her own sister."

"At least Anna and I got to say our marriage vows...before she died in my arms..." Hans said as he bowed his head in a brilliant display of teary grief.

"There can be no doubt now; Queen Elsa is a monster and we are all in grave danger." The Duke stated firmly looking at the others.

"Prince Hans, Arendelle looks to you." The Spanish Dignitary told Hans slowly.

Hiccup and the riders felt suspicious of Hans. Somehow, he reminded them of Mother Gothel, the woman who kidnapped Rapunzel as a baby and raised her in a tower hidden in the woods.

"With a heavy heart, I charge Queen Elsa of Arendelle with treason and sentenced her to death." Hans told them sadly but firmly.

Rapunzel and Eugene glanced at the riders and gestured them to find Anna while Hans and the dignitaries were distracted. The riders nodded and quietly left the room.

* * *

Anna shivered as she laid near death on the floor. She looked up and saw ice overtaking the ceiling. Then she heard the door clicking as she looked up weakly.

"Help..." Anna whispered hoarsely.

The door swung open. A carrot was in the lock and a giggle of victory was heard. Olaf took the carrot and put it back on his face. Then he and the riders saw Anna lying there.

"Anna! Oh no." Olaf gasped as he and the riders quickly went to Anna's side and knelt down beside her.

Then Olaf ran to the fireplace. He threw in some fresh wood, including one of his own arms, which he quickly rescued, before striking a match and relighting the fire.

"Olaf? Olaf. Get away from there." Anna warned him knowing that he could melt being so close to it.

"Whoa! So this is heat...I love it." Olaf reached a twig finger toward the flames. It caught on fire. "Ooh! But don't touch it!" He shook the flame out, as he rushed over to help the riders bring Anna towards the fire.

They gently sat her down in front of the fire. Sharpshot perched himself on her shoulder and wrapped his body like a scarf around her neck.

"So, where's Hans? What happened to your kiss?" Olaf asked.

"I was wrong about him. It wasn't true love." Anna stated, regrettably.

"But we ran all the way here." Olaf said, confused.

"He lied, Olaf." Merida said.

"He tricked Anna into falling in love with him so that he can take the throne." Audrey explained.

"Please Olaf, you can't stay here. You'll melt." Anna begged.

"I am not leaving here until we find some other act of true love to save you," Olaf stubbornly protested as he sat down behind her and leaned his back against hers and began to think, "Does anyone happen to have any ideas?"

The riders shook their heads with sadness.

"I don't even know what love is." Anna admitted.

"That's okay, I do." Olaf hopped back up and placed a soothing hand on her shoulder, "Love is...putting someone else's needs before yours, like, you know, how Kristoff brought you back here to Hans and left you forever."

"...Kristoff loves me?" Anna questioned, shocked.

"Wow, you really don't know anything about love, do you?" Olaf asked as his nose was about to slide off and he quickly put it back in place.

"Olaf!" Anna gasped.

"You're melting!" Hiccup gasped.

"Some people are worth melting for," Olaf assured them sweetly which caused them all to smile softly at him. But then...his face REALLY melted. He panicked and pushed the snow back in place, "Just maybe not right this second."

Suddenly, the window blew open, cold wind swept in.

"Don't worry, I've got it!" Olaf said as he ran to the window. He pulled one panel of it shut but struggled with the second panel and Carlos went over to help him, "We're going to get through-Oh, wait. Hang on. I'm getting something." Carlos stopped himself from closing the window as Olaf broke an icicle off the window, used it as a telescope and gasped when he saw Kristoff and Sven running back down the mountain, "It's Kristoff and Sven! They're coming back this way."

"They-they are?" Anna stuttered, shocked.

"Wow, he's really moving fast. I guess I was wrong. I guess Kristoff doesn't love you enough to leave you behind." Olaf stated.

"Help me up, everyone. Please." Anna pleaded as she tried to get to her feet.

The riders went to her side and began to help her up.

"No, no, no, no, no. You need to stay by the fire and keep warm." Olaf ordered as he hurried over, tumbling over the couch, knocking over the chess set and water jugs.

"I need to get to Kristoff." Anna declared.

"Why...?" Olaf asked, confused. Anna and the riders gave him a knowing look. He gasped as he realized and began to hop around excitedly as the riders helped Anna up, "Oh, oh, oh, I know why. There's your act of true love, right there, riding across the fjords like a valiant, pungent reindeer king! Come on!"

The walls cracked under the ice pressure.

"Look out!" Hiccup yelled.

The group quickly got out as the ceiling collapsed behind them. They quickly ran down the halls as Audrey and Hiccup were helping the struggling Anna. Ice spikes grew and blocked their path.

"Uh...back this way." Olaf urged.

The group turned the other direction, but there were ice spikes blocking that path too.

"We're trapped." Carlos said.

They looked desperately for a way out. Then Hiccup spotted a window next to them. He left Anna's side and inspected the window.

"Carlos, give me a hand." Hiccup ordered.

Both boys pushed against the windows until finally opened, nearly making Carlos fall out if Hiccup hadn't grabbed his arm. Luckily the area around the window was big enough for them to get out. The storm was so strong it swept the window panes away. Hiccup offered his hand to Anna, she takes it.

"Slide, Anna." Hiccup called her over the wind.

Anna sat down on the edge and then slipped down. Hiccup came next then, Carlos, Merida, Audrey, and Olaf all slid down the iced-covered building. Anna arrived at the bottom first, weakening but uninjured. Then all of the riders arrived after her. Olaf gathered snow along the way. He arrived at the bottom as a giant snowball.

"We made it!" Olaf cheered. He shook off the extra snow as Anna struggled to her feet.

Carlos and Merida helped Anna down towards the fjord. The riders spotted their dragons right near the shore of the fjord.

"Kristoff!" Anna shouted as she walked away from the riders.

"Anna, wait!" Audrey yelled as she and the other riders were about to go after her.

However the strong wind made them stop in their steps as they raised their arms over their eyes to shield them from the snow. But they decided to go after her. The dragon came to their riders's sides. They held onto the straps of the saddles. At that moment, the wind lifted Olaf up and pulled him apart. The riders gasped when they saw him in pieces.

"Olaf!/**Olaf!**" The riders and dragons shouted/roared.

"Keep going!" Olaf hollered as he went swirling off into the storm.

The group turned back to where they could faintly see Anna going into the blizzard ahead. They soon trudged forward as well. Both dragon and rider were having a hard time trying to get through the cold wind. To Hiccup's point of view, this storm was more powerful than the ones that happened when he lived on Berk. In the distance, they could vaguely see Anna who seemed to be struggling walking as she called out to Kristoff. Suddenly one of the ships tipped over in front of them, blocking their path.

"Oh, no!" Audrey gasped.

"Don't worry, we just have to go around it." Hiccup assured her.

The group carefully went around the ship, but when they finally got around it, they lost sight of Anna.

"We lost her!" Merida yelled.

"Quick Toothless, try to location her!" Hiccup shouted.

"**On it!**" Toothless warbled.

The riders put their hands over their ears as Toothless roared, releasing sound waves. A few seconds later, Toothless's ears twitched.

"**Straight ahead!**" Toothless roared lowly, nodding his head straight.

"Good job, bud. Okay, let's keep moving, everyone." Hiccup ordered.

The group nodded their heads and continued forward as the wind whipped around them. Unexpectedly, swirling storm suddenly stopped and the snow froze in mid-air. Citizens and dignitaries rushed to the wall's edge and looked out to see why it had all suddenly stopped. The gang was confused by this. They wondered why the storm had stopped so quickly. But they decided to think about that later as they tried to spot Anna.

"**There she is!**" Quicksilver warbled, gesturing her head towards the direction.

Up ahead of them was Anna who looked like she was barely standing. A lot further ahead was Kristoff. When Kristoff spotted Anna, he quickly ran across the fjord towards her with everything he got. At that moment, Anna and the riders heard a sword being drawn. They turned towards the source and saw Hans walking behind a grieving Elsa who sat on the ice, as he raised his sword over his head. Anna's eyes widened at what Hans was about to do and looked back at Kristoff as he ran towards her. She gave him a longing look, but then turned away from him and then using all of her remaining strength as Hans brought his sword down, Anna threw herself in front of Elsa with one hand up to block the sword.

"No!" Anna shouted.

In that instant, Anna froze to solid ice. The sword hit her instead of Elsa. The sword shattered completely. The force of it sent Hans flying back and knocked him out. Anna let out her final breath of air as Elsa opened her eyes and looked over seeing Anna's hand. She scrambled to move to see her frozen face.

"Anna!" Elsa cried out as she touched her sister's frozen face. "Oh, Anna...No...No, please no." Elsa pleaded. By this point, The riders, the dragons, Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf had walked over to see what happened.

"Anna?" Olaf asked, saddened.

"We were...too late..." Carlos breathed out.

Elsa hugged Anna's frozen body and cried. Kristoff along with the riders and their dragons watched in shocked despair. Sven stepped up to Kristoff side. Citizens and dignitaries on the castle walls bowed their heads. All of Arendelle joined in somber silence. The riders wrapped their arms around their dragons and sobbed. Elsa's body hung off Anna's frozen one as everyone stood there not sure what to say or do. Not noticed by anyone, in Anna's chest the ice began to melt and spread out to her arms, stomach, legs, and face. Olaf noticed first and gasped, that got the dragons and Sven's attention. Sven bumped Kristoff's arm making him look as his eyes widened with shock.

"**Everyone, look…**" Aileana warbled.

The riders looked up and silently gasped as Anna was fully thawed. Anna had lowered her arm and she took a deep inhale of air.

"Anna?" Elsa asked as she looked up her sister who was alive in front of her. She gasped and the two shared a loving hug. One that was very much wanted by the both of them.

"Oh, Elsa." Anna said, relieved.

The two pulled back from their embrace.

"You sacrificed yourself for me?" Elsa asked Anna.

"I love you." Anna replied calmly, taking Elsa's hands in hers.

Olaf realized what had happened. He's so excited about it, he lifted his head right off his body.

"An act of true love will thaw a frozen heart." Olaf exclaimed.

Elsa stood there a moment, processing what Olaf said.

"Love will thaw..." She said as thought about it then realized what it meant, "Love...Of course." Elsa said with a bright smile.

"Elsa?" Anna asked.

"Love!" Elsa lifted her arms, and the ground shook and cracked. The ice and snow broke away and rose high into the air. Beneath their feet the bow of a ship thawed. The entire fjord melted and other boats right themselves. The villagers came out to see the warmth returning. In one final wave, Elsa drew all of the snow into a giant snowflake in the sky, then waved it away, leaving only a warm summer day.

"I knew you could do it." Anna said to Elsa placing her hand on her back.

"Hands down, this is the best day of my life...and quite possibly the last..." Olaf said while in the process of melting.

"Oh, Olaf. Hang on, little guy." Elsa giggled a bit and waves her hand and surrounded Olaf with a swirl of cold air. He re-froze. Above his head she left a little, perpetually-snowing storm cloud. Olaf gasped with excitement.

"My own personal flurry!" Olaf laughed happily, a little bashful as Elsa, Anna, the riders, and dragons chuckled.

Kristoff saw Hans trying to get to his feet. The dragons growled as Kristoff marched toward him, prepared for a fight. But Anna put up a hand and stopped him. The riders did the same for their dragons.

"Uh. Uh. Uh." Anna said.

She went over to Hans who was rubbing his chin, trying to get feeling back into it. Then he noticed Anna had returned to normal and summer had returned to Arendelle.

"Anna? But she froze your heart." Hans stated, confused.

"The only frozen heart around here is yours." Anna remarked.

Anna turned away from him, proud of her words. But not yet satisfied, she turned back and punched him right in the face.

"Ah!" Hans yelled as he went overboard.

The riders and dragons chuckled at that while the townsfolk and dignitaries clapped and cheered. Elsa came over to Anna and hugged her. Sven nudged Kristoff arm. Kristoff smiled at the reindeer and placed his arm around his neck. The riders did the same gesture to their dragons. Anna looked over her shoulder and Kristoff met her eyes. She smiled brighter, finally happy that her sister was back.

* * *

_Love is a more powerful force than magic. You can trick the mind and even the heart, but never the soul. When a person is not free to love with their soul, that is not love and that is why a love spell can never truly work. _\- Nikki Jefford


	40. Clearing Doubts

Chapter 40: Clearing Doubts

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

A few days later, the kingdom of Arendelle was back to normal and the dignitaries were heading home. The dragon riders gave a helping hand on pulling the ships to the docks. At first, some of the people were shocked to see dragons. But Elsa and Anna were able to assure them that the dragons didn't mean any harm. The riders and the dragons had said their goodbyes to Rapunzel and Eugene before they left. The riders told them that they stay in Arendelle for a little bit before they go to their next location. Right now, Merida and Aileana were carrying Hans, in Aileana's claws to be most precise, to the ship he came on. The French dignitary was in charge of it now. Aileana was on the top deck, not to far from the jail cell on the brig.

"Alright, a little to the left." Merida instructed Aileana.

"P-Please don't throw me!" Hans begged, gripping hard on Aileana's leg, "The guards can just lead me safely into the cell."

"What's the fun in that?" Merida teased with a grin which unsettled Hans, "Let's go, Aileana!"

Aileana squawked and flew forward and with a powerful swing of her legs, Hans was thrown into the brig in which he went head first into a bucket as Aileana flew upwards and glided to the right and safely landed beside the French dignitary.

"I will return this scoundrel to his country. We shall see what his 12 big brothers think of his behavior." The French dignitary informed Kai.

"Arendelle thanks you, my Lord." Kai thanked the French dignitary as he, Merida, and Aileana bowed their heads towards the man who returned the gesture.

Down on the dock, Arendelle guards lead the Duke and his two thugs to their ship.

"This is unacceptable. I am innocent. I'm a victim of fear. I've been traumatized." The Duke began then pulled off very bad acting by adding, "Ow! My neck hurts. Is there a doctor I could...No? And I demand to see the Queen!" He ordered.

Kai stepped down from the gangplank to the dock while Aileana flew down beside him.

"I have a message from the Queen." Kai stated as he unrolled the scroll in his hands and read off it, "Arendelle will henceforth and forever no longer do business of any sort with _Weaseltown_." Kai said formally as the Duke's eyes widened.

"Weselton. It's Weselton!" The Duke corrected in a whiney tone as the guards ushered him and his thugs onto their ship and then got off, the men raised the gangplank as the last ship finally left the Arendelle docks.

* * *

Meanwhile, Anna was running through a crowd, dragging a blindfolded Kristoff behind her.

"Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on!" Anna ushered, excitedly.

"Okay, okay, here I come." Kristoff said before he ran into a pole, "Pole!"

"Whoops! Sorry." Anna apologized, directing him away from the pole. Anna skipped to the perfect spot and stopped, "Okay. Okay. Here we are. Oh!" She took off the blindfold and squealed excitedly as Kristoff opened his eyes. Before him sat the most beautiful, suped-up sled. Hiccup and Toothless stood next to it and gestured the sled while Sven posed in front of it - Vanna White-style, "I owe you a sled."

"Are you serious?" Kristoff asked, blown away.

"Yes!" Anna squealed, "And it's the latest model."

"No, I can't accept this." Kristoff protested.

"You have to. No returns. No exchanges. Queen's orders. She's named you the official Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer." Anna declared.

Sven showed off the Ice-Master-and-Deliverer medal like he's king of the bucks.

"What? That's not a thing." Kristoff stated.

"Sure it is. And it even has a cup holder... Do you like it?" Anna asked.

"Like it? I love it!" Kristoff said as he swept her up high overhead and spun her around, "I could kiss you!" Kristoff stopped and placed her back on her feet and rubbed the back of his head embarrassed, "I could. I mean I'd like to. I'd... may I? We me...I mean, may we? Wait, what?"

Anna gave him a quick kiss on his cheek and his eyes widened at that.

"We may." Anna decided.

The two smiled and kissed. Hiccup and Toothless glanced at each other and smiled as they shook their heads. They knew that the two had feelings for each other. Olaf had easily seen it as well. Then Hiccup and Toothless left the two and walked towards the castle courtyard.

* * *

Elsa was surrounded by citizens along with the dragon riders and their dragons smiling and excited. The gates to the castle were wide open. In the courtyard. Everyone now aware of their queen's powers wanted to see them in action without the fear of an eternal winter.

"Are you ready?" Elsa asked smiling.

Villagers cheered. Elsa looked down as she stomped her foot on the ground and created an ice rink in the courtyard. The people, skates at the ready, hopped onto it and twirled about. Elsa then froze the two fountains on her left and right in a beautiful design and formed a snowball in her hand and tossed it in the air, it gave off a pop, then dispersed and a light snow flurries began to fall around them.

The riders were still amazed that Elsa could do this kind of magic as they watched the two sisters ice skating with Olaf and then Sven was skating with Kristoff behind him. They were glad that the sisters were close once more and Elsa had full control of her powers. It was hard to believe that the girl had thought she was dangerous and had no control of her powers. But they knew that she distanced herself in order to protect her sister. However, Anna never gave up on her sister being able to control her powers and end the winter.

Then they turned to their dragons who were trying to catch the snowflakes around as the children were sitting on their backs, which was a humorous sight to see. Everyone liked the dragons. They were amazed by them in fact. The children loved playing with the dragons. Quicksilver was starting to get used to interacting with humans, but she liked playing with the children more than the adults. Toothless, Aileana, Sharpshot, and Cielo really enjoyed the attention they got from the children. It relieved the riders to see that no one thought that their dragons were dangerous. It was a good ending to the day so far.

* * *

Hiccup was sleeping in a guest room in the castle of Arendelle. The riders also had their own guest rooms while the dragons slept in the stables. However, Hiccup was tossing and turning in his bed. The thought of his mother kept him from getting any rest. He missed his mother while he was on his journey. He hadn't written to her since he hadn't reach Rome yet. He hoped that she was doing alright. With him out on his journey, his mother had to work alone on saving captured dragons from Drago. Seeing that he wouldn't be getting any rest, Hiccup sat up and took off his blanket. He grabbed his shoes and put them on. Then he quietly opened the door to his room and silently walked down the halls. When he reached the stables, he went over to Toothless's stall.

"Toothless?" Hiccup whispered.

"**Hiccup? What is it? Is something wrong?**" Toothless warbled, blinking his eyes sleepily.

"Can't sleep," Hiccup said as Toothless yawned. "Hey Toothless, do you remember how to get to the trolls?"

"**I think so. Why?**" Toothless questioned.

"I need to ask Grand Pabbie something." Hiccup answered.

"**What do you need to ask him?**" Toothless asked and let out a soft snort, "**It's about Drago, isn't it?**"

"Yeah." Hiccup sighed.

"**Very well.**" Toothless grunted.

Hiccup put the saddle on Toothless and the two quietly left the stables. Then flew off to the home of the trolls.

* * *

The moon was still up by the time Hiccup and Toothless arrived at the trolls' home. The trolls were in rock formation at the moment. Toothless landed near the circle of boulders and Hiccup dismounted and walked over to the circle.

"Grand Pabbie, I need to talk to you." Hiccup declared.

The boulders rolled towards Hiccup and the trolls revealed themselves.

"It's one of Kristoff's friends!" A female troll exclaimed happily and the other trolls cheered.

"What brings you here to our humble home?" The female troll asked.

"I need to speak to Grand Pabbie." Hiccup replied.

The trolls moved aside as Grand Pabbie rolled towards Hiccup and uncurled himself.

"I am here. What is it that you wish to speak to me about, young lad?" Grand Pabbie questioned.

"I know that I want to create a place where humans and dragons can coexist. But I'm afraid of what will happen if I come across Drago Bludvist." Hiccup answered as he knelt down in front of the troll.

"Who is this man?" Grand Pabbie asked.

"My mother told me that he is an evil man who traps dragons and uses them as weapons to threaten everyone in the Barbaric Archipelago." Hiccup said.

"And you wish to change his mind about dragons?" Grand Pabbie inquired.

"Yes, but-" Hiccup started.

"It's impossible, Hiccup. A man who has done such terrible things towards living creatures will never see reason nor will he ever change." Grand Pabbie interrupted.

"So I will never be able to change Drago's mind about dragons?" Hiccup questioned, sadly.

"I'm afraid so," Grand Pabbie answered, "If your mother has already seen and witnessed the evils he has done, then there's no hope of his mind changing."

"What if I showed him?" Hiccup suggested.

"Hiccup, not everything can go your way. There will be times that you just have to accept things the way they are or the situation at hand. There will also be times that you have to fight even though you may not want to," Grand Pabbie told Hiccup who looked away from him, "Those who've been in darkness for so long will never be able to come out of it. Most would choose to stay in it instead of leaving it. They would use that darkness to empower themselves and control all innocent lives."

"That also means that I will have to fight him someday?" Hiccup inquired, looking back at Grand Pabbie.

"Indeed so. When that day comes, you will be tested on the bond between you and your dragon." Grand Pabbie foretold Hiccup.

Those words worried Hiccup. He didn't think that his bond with Toothless would be tested against someone like Drago. He remembered all the times he had helped his mother rescue the trapped dragons they came across whenever they spotted a dragon trapper boat. He had also seen the amount of injuries the trapped dragons had suffered through before they were rescued.

"Remember, as long as you have faith in your dragon, no one will be able to severe your bond. But also, always trust your friends. You'll need them along your journey," Grand Pabbie advised, "Always remember that. Faith is one of the many qualities on becoming a great chief."

"Do you really think I have what it takes to be a chief, Grand Pabbie? I've never had the training to become one nor did my old tribe wanted me to be one." Hiccup stated, doubtful.

"You don't have to be like your father, Hiccup. You rule your village the way you want it to be." Grand Pabbie said.

"I know that some people doubt that a village of humans and dragons living in peace could exist. But I know that there will be one. Is that possible?" Hiccup questioned the wise troll.

"I believe so. You might be able to change a few people about dragons, but Drago will remain the same. As your mother had said, "You have the heart of a chief, the soul of a dragon"." Grand Pabbie encouraged him.

Hiccup looked down at the ground and then at Toothless. The dragon gave his toothless smile at Hiccup. The boy couldn't help but smile softly at the gesture. Perhaps Grand Pabbie was right. He might not be able to change everyone's minds about dragons. It was true that many leaders have no other choice when it came to hard decisions. Especially when it came to their tribe men. Hiccup knew that if he became chief, he would try to make decisions that would benefit both humans and dragons. He also knew that his decisions might not make some people happy, but it would help them in the end.

Hiccup stood up and walked over to Toothless and wrapped his arms around his neck. Toothless cooed and wrapped his wings around Hiccup. He was glad that his Night Fury friend was with him on this journey. After a moment, the two separated and looked to Grand Pabbie.

"Thanks, Grand Pabbie." Hiccup thanked Grand Pappie who bowed his head.

"Anytime." Grand Pabbie said.

Hiccup mounted onto Toothless and the two flew off into the night sky and headed back to Arendelle.

* * *

_You should never, never doubt what nobody is sure about. _\- Willy Wonka


	41. Charades Night

Chapter 41: Charades Night

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

*This takes place in "Frozen 2" movie. This is mostly spoilers if you haven't seen it yet.

* * *

The dragon riders had spent almost five months in Arendelle. The main reason why was because Audrey was studying a little bit of medicine from the healers in the kingdom while the gang wanted to get some new clothes. Two different ones in case of different climates they might run into. The winter they had just experienced was a good example. A few more weeks and Audrey would be taking her final test to become a legal healer. The leaves on the trees soon turned to orange red. The castle doors remained opened, Elsa was in full control of her powers, and nobody was afraid of them. The citizens of Arendelle were getting ready for the big feast that was happening later in the evening. Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Kristoff, Sven, the dragons, and their riders also helped out. Once the feast was ready, everyone sat down at the long table and ate delicious food while conversing with one another. Soon enough, the night began to fall and everyone cleaned up everything. The riders and their friends entered the castle as their dragons went back to the stables for the night. Everyone got into their pajamas and meet up in the living room to play a game called "Charades" which proved to be fun. At the moment, Anna was making some sort of growling noises with clawing hand gestures.

"Lion!" Kristoff guessed.

"Grizzly bear!" Merida guessed.

"Monster!" Audrey tried.

"Fat bear!" Olaf yelled.

"Angry face-" Kristoff guessed again.

"Knock bear! Hans!" Olaf tried.

Anna pointed at Olaf.

"Unredeemable monster!" Elsa guessed.

"Greatest mistake of your life!" Kristoff tried.

"We didn't even kiss you!" Olaf exclaimed.

Sven rung the little bell.

"Villain." Anna said.

"Oh!" The others realized.

"Yeah, we all kind of got it." Olaf commented.

"Okay Olaf, you're up." Kristoff said.

"Okay," Olaf said as he got off the couch and stood in front of everyone. Sven walked up to him with a small basket with pieces of paper in it, "So much easier now that I can read." Take a paper from the basket and read what was on the paper. Then crumbled it up and threw it, "Lightning round. Boys against Girls."

Sven rung the little bell and turned the hourglass.

"Okay, I'm ready. I'm ready. Go!" Kristoff said.

Then Olaf rearranged himself into a creature.

"Unicorn." Carlos said.

Olaf changed to an object.

"Ice cream." Kristoff said.

Olaf changed again.

"Castle." Hiccup said.

Olaf changed again into a person.

"Oaken." Kristoff said.

Olaf changed into an object again.

"Tea pot." Carlos said.

Olaf changed again into a creature.

"Mouse." Hiccup said.

Olaf changed again into a familiar person.

"Elsa!" Kristoff said.

The boys laughed while Kristoff leaned back on the couch with his arms resting on the arms as Sven rung the bell.

"I don't think Olaf should get to rearrange," Anna commented with her arms crossed while frowning. Kristoff and the boys stopped laughing and shrugged at that. "Doesn't matter. This is going to be a snitch," Anna cracked her knuckles as Elsa stood in front while Olaf went back to his seat and Sven walked to Elsa with the basket that was hanging on his right antler. "Two sisters, one mind," Then Merida and Audrey coughed. "And two smart friends who are girls."

"Thank you." Elsa thanked Sven when she took a paper from the basket and read the word as Sven walked away.

"Okay, here we go." Anna said as Elsa put the paper down and Sven rung the bell, "You got this, Elsa."

Then Elsa began to try making gestures.

"Nothing." Anna guessed.

"Air." Audrey tried.

"Tree." Merida guessed.

"People. Treple. Wait, that's not a word." Anna said.

"Shovel boy." Merida tried.

"Teeth." Audrey guessed.

"Oh! Doing the dishes." Anna guessed.

"Polar bear!" Olaf exclaimed.

"Hey!" Anna yelled.

"Sorry." Olaf apologized.

"You gotta give us something." Anna advised.

Elsa seemed to be struggling to make another gesture, but then she heard something and turned to the window, nearly blocking out the girls' voices. Anna kept guessing until Sven rung the little bell which meant that the boys had won. Anna grunted angrily and flopped onto the couch.

"We won." Kristoff said.

"Rematch?" Anna asked as she got up and stood by her sister.

"Oh, you know what? I think I'll turn in." Elsa said as she walked towards the doors.

"Are you okay?" Anna asked, worried.

"Just, just tired. Good night." Elsa replied before leaving the room.

"Yeah, I'm tired too and Sven promised me to read me a bedtime story, didn't you, Sven?" Olaf asked as he held Sven's face close to him.

"Did I?" Kristoff asked, pretending to be Sven's voice while Sven shook his head at the idea.

"Oh you do the best voices," Olaf said as he got on Sven's back and laid on his back, "like when you pretend to be Kristoff and you're like I just need to talk to some rocks about my childhood."

Then Sven, Olaf, and the riders left the room. But Kristoff and Anna stayed behind.

"Kristoff?" Carlos asked.

"Um, how about you guys start without me?" Kristoff asked as he stared at Anna who was picking up the papers, basket, and bell.

"Sure." Hiccup agreed and shut the door behind him.

A few seconds later, Anna came out. Curious to know what happened, the riders went back to the living room and saw Kristoff kneeling on the ground with a ring in his hand.

"So how did it go?" Hiccup asked.

Kristoff let out a heavy sigh.

"No luck, huh?" Carlos asked.

Sven and the riders knew that Kristoff was trying to propose to Anna, unfortunately he was having a hard time doing it. Everytime he tried, something always interrupted him. The riders wanted to help him, but he kept saying that he would be able to do it himself.

"So what did she say?" Audrey asked.

"She asked if Elsa had seemed a little weird lately." Kristoff said as he stood up.

"Now that you mentioned it, she kind of has." Merida pointed out.

"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked.

"She seemed a little bit distracted these past few days." Merida said.

"Did she say anything to any of you?" Audrey asked.

"No, she hasn't." Carlos replied.

"Why don't we just head to bed for now? We'll talk more in the morning." Kristoff suggested.

"Good idea." Hiccup agreed.

"Well, good night everyone." Carlos said.

Kristoff put out the fire and then the group went to their bedrooms to get some sleep.

* * *

_One way to boost our willpower and focus is to manage our distractions instead of letting them manage us._ \- Daniel Goleman


	42. The Enchanted Forest

Chapter 42: The Enchanted Forest

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

*Just to let you know, Hiccup isn't falling in love with anyone in Arendelle or the Northuldra tribe of the Enchanted Forest. This is an Hiccup x _OC_ fanfic.

* * *

The riders didn't know what woke them up, but when they did, they went to their windows and saw Elsa's ice in diamond form staying afloat outside everywhere. The strange thing about them that there were strange symbols on them. They were confused by this when the ice fell to the ground. The riders quickly left their rooms and went outside to investigate with Anna and the rest of the castle staff. When they got out there, they saw the lights turned pinkish red and went out. Then the water from the fountains suddenly stopped and dried up. At that moment, a huge gust of wind came and blew open the stable doors, pushing Sven and the dragons out. Soon they heard Elsa telling everyone to evacuate to the cliffs. Everyone was running up the road as the wind blew harshly against them with leaves blowing all over. Unexpectedly, the bricks on the road began to rise up like waves. Soon enough, everyone was safely staying on the cliffs. Kristoff, Sven, the riders, and their dragons were handing out blankets to everyone.

"Everyone's out and safe," Hiccup reported and then handed a rolled up blanket to a woman, "Here, take one of these."

"You okay there, Olaf?" Kristoff asked when he and the riders spotted him sitting with the children.

"Oh Yeah. We're calling this, controlling what you can when things feel out of control." Olaf said as the children were putting the ice shards on him.

"**Olaf will always be strange to me.**" Toothless commented.

"**Agreed.**" Sharpshot added.

"Okay, I don't understand. You been hearing a voice and you didn't think tell me?" Anna questioned Elsa.

"I don't want to make you worry." Elsa said with her arms wrapped around her waist.

"We made a promise not to shut each other out. Just tell me what's going on." Anna demanded.

"I woke the magical spirits of the Enchanted Forest." Elsa answered.

Anna and the Riders blinked in shock at this.

"Okay, that is definitely not what I thought you were gonna say." Anna stated, shocked, and then pondered on the last past on what Elsa said, "Wait, the Enchanted Forest? The one father warned us about?"

"Yes." Elsa replied.

"Why would you do that?" Anna asked.

"Because of the voice. I know it sounds crazy, but I believe whoever is calling me, is good." Elsa defended.

"How can you say that? Look at our kingdom." Anna pointed out.

"I know, it's just that may magic can feel it. _I_ can feel it." Elsa reasoned.

"Okay." Anna said. Then they all heard a rumbling sound.

"Oh no, what now?" Audrey asked.

"The Trolls?" Kristoff asked, confused when he spotted the boulders coming towards them.

"Kristoff, we missed you!" A female troll yelled as she leaped at him.

"Pabbie!" Elsa proclaimed when the said troll uncurled and stood on a boulder that was at the two sisters' level.

"Well, never a dull moment with you two. I hope you're prepared for what you have done, Elsa. Angry magical spirit are not for the faint of heart." Grand Pabbie warned.

"Why are they still angry? What does all of this have to do with Arendelle?" Anna questioned.

"Let me see what I can see." Pabbie suggested as a light appeared in front of them and formed a picture of a dam, "The past is not what it seems," Then the light morphed into two groups of people and the leaders shaking hands and soon changed into the two fighting, "A wrong demands to be righted," The fight changed into the castle of Arendelle, "Arendelle is not safe. The truth must be found, without it," Soon the castle disappeared, "I see no future."

"No future?" Anna asked, scared.

"What does that mean?" Merida asked.

"When one can see no future, all one can do is the next right thing." Pabbie advised.

"The next right thing...Is for me to go to the Enchanted Forest and find that voice," Elsa decided and turned to Kristoff, "Kristoff, can I borrow your wagon and Sven?"

"I'm not comfortable with the idea of that." Kristoff stated.

"You are not going alone." Anna protested.

"Anna, No, I have my powers to protect me, you don't." Elsa reasoned.

"Excuse me, I climbed to the north mountain, survived a frozen heart, and saved you from my ex-boyfriend and I did it all without powers, so you know, I'm coming." Anna confirmed.

"Me too, I'll drive." Kristoff said as he stood by Anna.

"I'll bring the snacks!" Olaf yelled from behind who looked like a ballerina princess.

"We're coming too." Hiccup declared.

"You guys don't have to come with us. You said that you'll be leaving the day after Audrey finishes her exam which is three weeks away." Elsa protested, turning to the dragon riders.

"How can we leave when your kingdom obviously in trouble?" Carlos asked.

"There's no way we're leaving you guys like this." Audrey added.

"We're _all _going with you." Hiccup confirmed.

"And there's nothing you can do to stop us." Merida added with her arms crossed.

"Alright." Elsa sighed, gave in.

"I will look after your people." Grand Pabbie informed the two sisters.

"Please make sure they stay out of the kingdom until we return." Anna pleaded.

"Of course." Grand Pabbie accepted.

"Let's let them know." Elsa said.

Elsa, Kristoff, and the riders went off to tell the citizens that they were leaving while Grand Pabbie asked Anna to talk with him.

* * *

The next morning, the group set off to the Enchanted Forest. Anna had explained to them that the Enchanted Forest was a magical place and their father told them about the Northuldra tribe who live in the forest, the fight between the two armies which lead them to be trapped in the forest, the elemental spirits of the forest, and how their father was rescued by a spirit. The riders were very interested in the Enchanted Forest and couldn't wait to see it.

Kristoff decided to use the wagon for himself, Anna, Elsa, and Olaf while the riders rode on their dragons. Just when they left the kingdom, Olaf began sprouting trivia facts like "water has memories" or "we blink 4 million times a day". To everyone's point of view, Olaf was talking nonsense. Luckily Kristoff pointed out one true fact: "Did you know that sleeping quietly on long journeys prevents insanity?" Everyone fully agreed on that one.

Night had fallen on the third day of traveling. The group was still heading towards the forest. Elsa and Olaf were sleeping in the wagon while Kristoff and Anna were still awake. The dragon riders were above them, slightly ahead of them. They were somewhat able to hear what Kristoff was saying to Anna. From Anna's tone, Kristoff wasn't saying the right things to compliment her. At that moment, Elsa heard the voice and woke up. She quickly sat up and looked at her surroundings.

"Kristoff, stop, please." Elsa ordered.

"Good idea." Kristoff said, thinking she wanted him to stop talking.

"I hear it. I hear the voice." Elsa said as she started to get out of the wagon which made Kristoff pulled on Sven's reigns to make him stop.

"You do?" Anna asked when Elsa got out and walked down a dirt road. Anna got off and went over to Olaf, "Olaf, wake up!"

Olaf mumbled as she helped him out of the wagon. The dragons landed beside them and followed the group. When they came up a ledge, they could only gasped in awe of what was in front of them: a huge wall of mist. Elsa quickly went down and the others followed as well. They were amazed to see such a thing. Kristoff decided to go in, only to be pushed back by the mist. Olaf somehow thought it looked fun, so he went straight in and was sent flying back onto the ground. But he kept repeating the same thing. Elsa walked to the front of the mist and held her hand out into the mist. Suddenly the mist parted and four tall stones appeared. The strange thing about them was that each stone had a symbol which looked familiar to the ones that Elsa had formed with her ice power.

"Promise me, we do this together, okay?" Anna pleaded, holding Elsa's hand.

"I_ promise_." Elsa promised as she squeezed her sister's hand.

The group went into the mist and followed the only path that was cleared for them while the mist still surround them. Sven mooed nervously as they walked. Kristoff placed his hand on Sven's back to comfort him.

"It's okay." Kristoff assured Sven.

"Do you know that an Enchanted Forest is a place of transformation? I have no idea what that means. But I can't wait to see what it's gonna do to each one of us." Olaf said, not noticing everyone's nervousness.

At that moment, a gust of wind came up behind them and started pushing them through the mist, which everyone started freaking out. Soon enough, they were on the other side of the mist wall.

"What was that?!" Kristoff asked, surprised.

Like before, Olaf repeated the same thing he did when he was on the other side of the mist wall. The riders got off their dragons and went up to the mist. Anna went over to it as Elsa gazed at her hand and tried to part the mist again, only for it to reject the power and sent it flying which made the riders duck. They glanced at where it landed and looked to Elsa who winced.

"Sorry." Elsa apologized with a nervous smile.

"Aaand we're locked in." Hiccup concluded.

"Probably should have seen that one coming." Anna commented.

Elsa turned towards the forest and gasped with a smile. The other turned to the forest and saw what Elsa was looking at.

"This forest is beautiful." Elsa said with awe.

The others fully agreed with her. Many trees and bushes with red orange leaves everywhere. For Hiccup, this forest was indeed beautiful, much more than the one on Berk. Then he spotted Sven rubbing his neck against a tree. For Merida and Carlos, the forest reminded them of the ones back at their homes. They soon came upon a cliff where they spotted a dam, the one they had seen in Grand Pabbie's vision.

"The Dam...It still stands. It was in Grand Pabbie's visions, but why?" Anna questioned.

"I don't know, but it's still in good shape, thank goodness." Kristoff stated.

"What do you mean?" Anna asked.

"Well if that Dam broke, it would send a tidal wave so big, it would wash away everything on this fjord." Kristoff replied, gesturing with his hands.

"Everything? But...Arendelle is on this fjord." Anna said, worried.

"Nothing gonna to happen to Arendelle Anna, it's gonna be fine. Come here." Kristoff assured her as he pulled her into a comforting hug.

Then Sven which caught Kristoff's attention along with the dragon riders. He gestured with his hoof to 'go on' to Kristoff. That probably meant "propose to Anna". So the riders and dragons quickly moved away, to give the two privacy. Less than two minutes later, Anna rushed past them. They watched Anna leave and turned to Kristoff who had a look of defeat on his face while holding the diamond ring. Sven walked up Kristoff and was about to comfort him, only for Kristoff to place his hand on his mouth.

"Don't patronize me." Kristoff ordered.

"Let's go follow Anna." Merida suggested and they went off to follow Anna.

* * *

_Going into the unknown is invariably frightening, but we learn what is significantly new only through adventures._ \- Peck

* * *

*I changed what Merida and Audrey are wearing. Merida is wearing the clothing that Tauriel the female elf from _The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug _wears. Audrey is wearing what I designed from a Viking creator game. It can be found on my wattpad story


	43. The Northuldra Tribe

Chapter 43: The Northuldra Tribe

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

The group met up with Anna and Elsa. But then they soon noticed that Olaf wasn't with them. So they went to go find him. They soon heard Olaf's laughing nearby and turned to where it was coming from. What they didn't expect was that a powerful tornado was coming towards them. Once it came, everyone was swirling around inside the tornado.

"Hey guys, meet the wind spirit!" Olaf shouted.

Everyone was flying going around, up, and down inside the tornado. They were trying to maneuver themselves through it, but it proved to be difficult.

"Coming through!" Kristoff yelled as he flew past Carlos.

"Oooh, I think I'm going to be sick!" Anna declared as she held her hand over her mouth.

"I'd hold your hair back, but I can't find my arms!" Olaf yelled, not noticing that his arms were on the back of his head.

Kristoff bumped into Sven and rolled around until Sven was riding on Kristoff's back. Elsa soon noticed a branch heading towards Anna. She quickly aimed her power at the branch which sent it away from Anna who shocked at seeing the branch.

"Hey! Stop!" Elsa ordered as a trail of leaves twirled around her arms and hands.

Unexpectedly, everyone was dropped out of the tornado and fell onto the ground. The dragons, Sven, and Olaf were a little bit dizzy as they tried to stand up, only to fall down on their stomachs. The group soon noticed that Elsa wasn't among them. They looked up and saw a sphere of wind above them.

"Elsa!" Anna screamed with her arm shielding her eyes, "Let her go!"

A blue mist began to cover the sphere as it was lowered to the ground. The group knew that Elsa was using her magic. The air in front of them grew colder and more powerful, which wasn't a good sign.

"Anna, be careful!" Kristoff yelled.

"That's my sister!" Anna shouted.

Suddenly, the winds dispersed and disappeared. Elsa stood in the middle of a circle of frozen figures. Anna quickly ran over to her sister.

"Are you okay?" Anna asked, worriedly.

"I'm fine." Elsa assured.

"What are these?" Hiccup asked, looking at the ice figures near them.

The group was fascinated by these ice figures. Sven was impressed with the one that was a reindeer. Even though the group had seen Elsa form many things with her magic, the ones in front of them felt different for some strange reason.

"They look like moments in time." Elsa said as she, Merida, and Anna touched the horse ice figure.

"Wow." Merida said, awed by the horse.

"What's that thing you say, Olaf?" Anna questioned the snowman who was standing next to a campfire ice figure and was pretending that he was getting heat from it.

"Oh, my theory about advancing technology is both our savior and our doom?" Olaf asked as he walked over to them.

"No, not that one, the one about…" Anna pondered.

"The one about cucumbers?" Olaf suggested.

"No. The thing about water." Anna said.

"Oh, yeah. Water has memory," Olaf said as he took off his arm and gestured the water that Sven was drinking from a puddle and the path the water would take when it would enter Sven's body. "The water that makes up you and me has passed through at least 4 humans and or animals before us." Sven widened his eyes at the fact and opened his mouth and let the water pour out. That caused Anna and Hiccup to hum in interest while the others were weirded out by that fact, "And remembers _everything_." The wind spirit blew around Sven, lifting him upside down with leaves around him and then put him back on his feet. The wind went over to Olaf and spun around him, lifting him into the air which caused Olaf to chuckle, "The wind's back!" The wind spirit spun around him so fast, it caused his sides to open up like an umbrella, "Delicious! I think I'll call you Gale."

The wind went over to Kristoff who held his arm out to it. It took ahold of his arm and spun him around and went into his vest, causing it to puff up.

"Get out there!" Kristoff ordered, patting down his vest which made 'Gale' leave and went over to Merida and made her hair blew upwards.

Merida chuckled and patted her hair down as Gale went over to the riders and spun around their waist which made them laugh as well, and went over to their dragons. Gale blew upwards, making their dragons float in the air for a moment and let them down on the ground gently. Then the spirit went over to Anna and spun around her body.

"Oh, hi, are you curious!" Anna commented and Gale made her purple cloak go over Anna's head.

"You in a better mood now?" Elsa chuckled as Gale made her braid come in front of her mouth.

Gale flew past the group and went over to another ice figure. It had a girl who was holding a boy in her arms. They looked to be the same age and height. The wind swirled around them. The group walked up the figure. Anna touched the boy figure.

"Father...That's father." Anna realized.

"This girl…" Elsa trailed off when she gazed at the girl figure.

"She's saving him." Carlos said.

"She's Northuldra." Kristoff concluded.

Suddenly, all of the trees around them were rustling and horns were blaring.

"What is that?" Audrey asked.

"Olaf, get behind me." Elsa ordered Olaf who went behind her.

The group began backing away from the figures. Hiccup took out his inferno and shield while Merida got her bow and arrow ready, Audrey and Carlos took out their swords. Anna took the ice sword from one of the figures.

"What are you gonna to do with that?" Kristoff asked.

"I have no idea." Anna replied, holding the sword in front of her.

The noises were surrounding them and no one knew where to look. Anna ran towards a bush and slashed it with a sword and saw a group of people carrying a staff which they now knew were the Northuldra tribe. The dragons got in front of the group. One woman stepped forward and pointed her staff at the group.

"Lower your weapons and stand down your beasts." The woman ordered.

Then they heard a banging sound and the group turned around and saw a group of soldiers with swords and shields.

"And you lower _yours_." A man with dark skin, who looked to be the leader, ordered.

"Arandellian Soldiers?" Anna asked, confused.

"What are they doing here?" Merida asked.

"Threatening my people, Lieutenant?" A woman with white hair questioned the leader of Arandellians.

"Invading my Dam space, Yelana?" 'Lieutenant' retorted.

"Why does that soldier looks so familiar?" Anna pondered, waving her sword around.

"Lieutenant, get the sword!" One of the soldiers yelled.

The groups were about to clash until Elsa made the ground below them into ice which caused them to all fall and slide on the ice.

"That was magic. Did you see that?" Lieutenant questioned, shocked.

"Of course I saw it." Yelana confirmed, scooting away from the lieutenant.

"Well, you chose a nice cold greeting." Anna commented.

"They've been trapped in here this whole time?" Kristoff asked, shocked.

"It looks like it." Carlos confirmed.

"What do we do now?" Elsa asked.

"I got this," Olaf assured as he went past Elsa and stood in front of the group, "Hi I'm Olaf," Olaf greeted. One of the villagers gasped and hid behind one of the other villagers. "Oh sorry, yeah, I just find clothes restricting. Bet you're wondering who we are and why we are here. It's really quite simple. It began with two sisters…" Olaf began dramatically.

Olaf then began telling of what happened to Elsa when she became Queen and putting Arendelle into eternal winter. Hiccup was surprised that Olaf could go into such detail about their previous adventure. Not to mention how well he portrayed each character. As he spoke, the riders were feeling quite uncomfortable of how he told them why they were in the Enchanted Forest while Elsa gently facepalmed and Anna grinned sheepishly.

"...Any questions?" Olaf asked. But no one answered and just blinked and stared at the group with confusion. "I think they got it."

Elsa thawed all of the ice around the villagers and soldiers. Both groups stood up. The riders put away their weapons, seeing that neither side was going to harm them.

"Are you really queen of Arendelle?" Lieutenant asked, holding his sword and shield.

"I am." Elsa replied.

"Why would nature rewards a person of Arendelle with magic?" Yelana questioned with suspicion, standing in front of her group.

"Perhaps to make up for the actions of your people." Lieutenant accused, standing in front of his soldiers.

"My people are innocent, we would have never attack first." Yelana defended.

"May the truth be found," Lieutenant said before he noticed Anna standing next to him while making a frame gesture with her hands which she could clearly see the Lieutenant, "Hi, I'm sor-, uh, what's happening?"

"That's it! Lieutenant Mattias, library, second portrait on the left. You are our father's official guard." Anna confirmed.

"Agnarr...what did happen to your parents?" Mattias asked.

"Our parents' ship went down in the Southern Sea six years ago." Anna replied, sadly.

"I see him...I see him in your faces." Mattias complimented.

"Really?" Anna asked with a soft smile.

"Soldiers, we maybe getting on in years, but we're still strong. Proud to serve Arendelle." Mattias stated as he and the soldiers got in front of the sisters and their friends, which caused the Northuldra people to back away.

"Wait, please," Elsa pleaded as she stepped away from the soldiers, "Someone has called me here. If I can just find them, I believe they have the answers that may help us free this forest. Trust me, I just want to help."

"We only trust nature. When nature speaks..." Yelana began until the tree next to them burst into pinkish red flames and she looked up at the tree with shock, "We listen."

"This will all makes sense when I'm older." Olaf muttered to himself, backing away from the flames.

"Fire spirit!" Someone yelled as fire spirit jumped onto the tree next to the burning one and went onto the ground, creating a trail of fire.

"Get back everyone! Go to the river!" Mattias ordered as everyone back away and the fire spread.

The riders started to follow the tribe and the soldiers, only to stop and see Elsa putting out the flames with her ice magic. But then they spotted the reindeer leaving off in another direction.

"No, no, no reindeer! That's a dead end!" A male tribe member panicked.

"Come on Sven," Kristoff yelled as he hopped onto Sven's back and went after the fleeing reindeer, "We'll get them!"

"Elsa, get out there!" Anna shouted when she saw her sister in her flames, "No, no, no, no!"

Then Anna went straight into the flames.

"Anna, no!" Audrey yelled as she went after Anna with the riders following behind.

"Elsa!" Anna shouted, putting a part of her cloak over her nose and mouth, trying to follow her sister.

The riders put their arms over their mouth to prevent the smoke from getting them, but they knew that they had to find Anna fast or else they'll get burned from the flames. They spotted Anna when they heard her coughing. They were almost near her, but the flames were starting to get to them as well which caused them to fall to their knees while coughing heavily.

"Anna!" Kristoff yelled and headed towards her.

Elsa spotted her sister in the flames and quickly used her magic to douse the flames. Anna was still coughing as she tried to get to her feet. Unexpectedly, Kristoff grabbed her by the waist and pulled her onto Sven's back in front of him. The dragons spotted their riders, the riders grabbed onto the saddles and swung onto them.

"Get her out of here!" Elsa ordered.

"No! Elsa!" Anna protested as Sven rode off with the dragons following behind them. They soon reached the village and saw Elsa kneeling down, holding a small blue salamander in her hands and flames soon died out. She sprinkled a few snowflakes which the salamander was catching them with his tongue. She chuckled at his cuteness. Then she noticed the tribe members and the soldiers behind her.

"They're all looking at us, aren't they? Got advice?" Elsa asked the fire spirit who said nothing, "Nothing? Hmm," The spirit licked his eyeball with his tongue, "Should I know what that means?" Then Elsa heard the voice and saw that the spirit had also heard it, "You hear it too. Somebody's calling us, who is it? What do we do?" The spirit jumped from her hands as she stood up and saw the spirit standing on top of a boulder while looking at her, "Okay, keep going north."

The spirit looked excitedly at her and leaped off the rock. Elsa was about to follow, however Anna hugged her from behind.

"Elsa!" Anna gasped then she let go and Elsa turned to her, "Oh, thank goodness."

"Anna." Elsa said, concerned.

"Are you okay?" Anna asked.

"What were you doing? You could have been killed, you can't just follow me into fire!" Elsa warned.

"You don't want me to follow you into fire, then don't _run into fire_," Anna demanded before her expression fell, "You are not being careful, Elsa." Anna reminded Elsa. Elsa sighed heavily at her sister's words.

"I'm sorry, are you okay?" Elsa apologized.

"I've been better." Anna replied.

"I know what you need." Elsa smiled as she took out their mother's scarf from Anna's bag and wrapped it around her sister who held onto it, who smiled softly at it.

They turned to the Northuldra tribe who were intrigued by the scarf. Yelana stepped forward.

"Where did you get that scarf?" Yelana asked, suspicious.

"That's a Northuldra scarf." A male tribe member said, standing behind Anna.

"What?" Anna asked, confused.

"This is from one of our oldest families." A female tribe member said, standing beside Anna.

"It was our mother's." Anna said.

Elsa gasped and grabbed Anna's hand. The two took off and went to the ice figure of their father and the girl. Elsa noticed the scarf the girl was wearing. Anna gazed at the girl, she then realized who this girl was.

"Elsa." Anna said.

"I see it, it's mother." Elsa said, caressing the girl's cheek.

"Mother saved father's life that day." Anna stated.

Soon enough, everyone gathered around the sisters and the ice figures.

"Our mother was Northuldra." Elsa announced as she and Anna held their hands.

The Northuldra tribe and the Arendellian soldiers were shocked at this. Kristoff and the others were as well. Gale swirled around the ice figure of Elsa's parents and flew up into the trees. At that moment, the ice figures began to glow a light blue. Then blue lights appeared in the trees, almost like stars in the night sky. Olaf lite up as well as he stood on Sven's back. It was a beautiful sight for everyone. The Northuldra tribe members began to hymed while stamping their staff on the ground. They placed their hands on their shoulders as they stood in a circle. Yelana stepped forward and held the two sister's hands.

"We are called Northuldra. We are the people of the Sun." Yelana declared.

"I promise you. I will free this forest, and restore Arendelle." Elsa promised.

"That's a pretty big promise, Elsa." Anna pointed out.

"I heard the voice again. We need to go north." Elsa said.

"But the earth giant now roam north at night." A female tribe member protested.

"You can leave in the morning." Yelana suggested.

"I'm Honeymaren." The female tribe greeted.

"Honeymaren, we'll do all we can." Anna assured Honeymaren.

* * *

Everyone was settled at the Northuldra camp. Olaf was sitting with some of the children who were playing with his body parts which was sort of funny. Anna was talking to Mattias not too far from the camp while Elsa was sitting with Honeymaren while petting a baby moose as they sat by a campfire. While the riders were sitting next to the other campfires with their dragons. More children gathered around them as the dragons let the children pet them. Then Hiccup noticed Yelana walking up to them.

"May I?" Yelana asked as she gestured Toothless.

Hiccup nodded and Yelana held her hand out in front of Toothless who crooned as he sniffed her hand. He pressed his snout against her palm. She smiled softly at him as she continued to pet him.

"I never thought I would see dragons in my day." Yelana said as she petted Toothless's head.

"Unbelievable, right?" Carlos asked.

"Indeed," Yelana agreed as she stopped petting Toothless and looked at all of the riders, "You all have a strong connection with your dragons."

"Toothless has been my best friend ever since we first bonded," Hiccup said, wrapping his left arm around Toothless's neck, "At first he thought I was his enemy, but I proved to him that I wasn't."

"**You'll always be my first best friend.**" Toothless warbled.

"Same for me and Aileana. She's like me. Spirited and brave." Merida said.

"**Very true.**" Aileana crooned, nudging Merida's shoulder.

"Curious and adventurous." Carlos said, placing his hand on Cielo's neck.

"_**Very**_** adventurous.**" Cielo warbled.

"Loyal and trustworthy." Audrey said, her hand on Quicksilver's neck.

"**I'll always be loyal to my friends.**" Quicksilver crooned.

"I see. You're much like the Northuldra. You peacefully coexist with your dragons just like we do with the spirits." Yelana stated.

"Really?" Hiccup asked.

"Yes, but you have a more deeper bond with them than we do with the spirits." Yelana said as Sharpshot landed on top of her staff. She smiled at the little dragon and scratched him underneath his chin which caused him to purr.

"I plan on creating a tribe where humans and dragons can live in peace." Hiccup admitted.

"That's a hard task to do, Hiccup." Yelana stated.

"I know. There are many who despise dragons and won't forgive them of their past actions. But I also know that there might be people out there who believe that peace _is_ possible." Hiccup said, determined.

"You will become a great chief, Hiccup." Yelana complimented which made Hiccup smile.

Suddenly they all heard big thumping.

"What's that?" Carlos asked.

"Earth giants. What are they doing down here?" Yelana asked, looking all around.

Quickly, everyone put out their fires, shut the doors, and hid out of sight. Hiccup and the riders took a peek from their hiding places and spotted the giants walking through the trees. Hiccup had to admit that they were huge. But Red Death was probably bigger than them. If it came down to strength, Red Death would easily beat them with its fire power. Once the giants were gone, the group quickly went over to Elsa and Anna.

"Hey guys that was close." Olaf said as he and the others ran up to Elsa and Anna.

"I know." Elsa said as Bruni, the fire spirit, jumped off Olaf and landed onto Elsa's hand, "The giants sensed me. They may come back here. I don't want to put anyone at risk again." Elsa turned to Anna, "And you're right Anna, we've got to find the voice. We're going now."

"Okay, we're going, let me just-" Anna began to say when she noticed that Kristoff and Sven were not in the camp while Elsa, the riders, and dragons began walking away, "Wait, where are Kristoff and Sven?"

"Oh yeah, I think they took off with that Ryder guy and a bunch of reindeer." Olaf said.

"They _left_?" Anna asked, shocked. Olaf nodded, "Just left without saying anything?"

"Who knows the ways of men." Olaf commented as he walked away to catch up with Elsa.

Elsa, Olaf, the riders, and dragons looked at Anna, who was still standing where she was, wondering if she was still going with them. Anna took a glance at the camp and followed after their group.

* * *

_A cold wind was blowing from the north, and it made the trees rustle like living things._ \- George R.R. Martin


	44. Water Has Memory

Chapter 44: Water Has Memory

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

The group minus Kristoff and Sven were walking through the hills, trying to find the voice. Elsa kept singing a voice every few seconds. Olaf tried, but it sounded like a creature screaming in pain. Anna, the riders, and dragons cringed at how awfully he sounded as they stopped in their steps while Elsa went ahead of them.

"Hey Olaf, umm. Maybe just one of you should do it." Anna suggested.

"I agree, she's a little pitchy." Olaf commented.

"**Olaf is the one who's **_**too**_** pitchy actually.**" Quicksilver commented.

Gale passed by Anna and the riders and twirled around Olaf.

"Hey, Gale's back." Olaf said as Gale went past him and twirled around Elsa before going up a hill where the group spotted a ruin sail with a flagpole and flag on top.

The group quickly ran up the hill and were shocked at what they saw once they reached the top: a ruined Arandellian ship. But the sisters were even more shocked when they saw it.

"How can it be?" Anna asked, gripping her sister's arm as Elsa began breathing heavily.

"What is it?" Audrey asked.

"Mother and Father's ship." Anna responded.

"But this isn't the Southern Sea." Olaf pointed out as he stood on a boulder.

"No, it isn't." Anna agreed.

Elsa ran towards the ship with Anna, Olaf, the riders, and dragons behind her. They spotted a big hole in the ship and entered. Most of the insides were still intact. The group wandered around to find any clues to what Elsa and Anna's parents ship was doing here.

"Why is their ship here?" Elsa questioned.

"How is it here?" Carlos added.

"It must have been washed in from the Dark Sea." Anna said as she looked through the wreckage.

"What were they doing in the Dark Sea?" Elsa asked.

"I don't know." Anna replied, unsure.

"How did the ship get through the mist?" Merida pondered.

"I thought nobody could but us, unless…" Olaf began.

"Nobody was on it." Hiccup finished.

"There's gotta be something here." Audrey said.

"Wait, wait, look around. Every Arendellian ship has a compartment, waterproof." Anna said as she began looking around and everyone else also began to look through the cabinets and cupboards.

"That's very clever. Although it does make me wonder why they don't make the whole ship waterproof." Olaf commented.

"Here!" Anna said when she found the compartment underneath the seat and took it out. She opened it up and took a roll of paper from it. The others gathered around her as she unrolled the paper. There were strange and unknown symbols on the paper. "What language is this?"

"I don't know, but look, this is mother's handwriting." Elsa said as she held the edge of the paper where there was some writing.

"'The end of the ice age, the river found but lost. Magic source'. Elsa's source?" Anna pondered. Anna handed the paper to Elsa who began reading it. Then took out another paper that was in the compartment and unrolled and placed it out on the seat, "It's a map. They traveled North. Planned to cross the Dark Sea to...Ahtohallan. It's real?"

"Ahtoho-what?" Olaf asked as the girls were shocked at this.

"Ahtohallen. It's a magical river said to hold all the answers about the past." Anna replied.

"Reinforcing my water has memory theory." Olaf commented, nodded.

"Water has memory." Elsa said as she stood up and walked over to the center of the room and knelt down. She placed her hands on the woods, using her magic, and drops of water rose from it. The water began to gather in the middle of the room.

"Elsa?" Anna asked with wide eyes.

"I wanna know what happened to them." Elsa said.

Anna knelt beside her sister and wrapped her arm around her shoulders. The riders and dragons gathered around the sisters as the ice sculpture began to form. The voices of the girls' parents were echoing around them.

_Ahtohallan has to be the source of her magic._

_We keep going._

_But Elsa…_

_The waves are too high!_

A yell of panic was heard when the sculptures revealed to be Anna and Elsa's parents. Their father wrapped his arms around their mother, holding her close to him, before a wave was about to consume them. Tears began forming in Elsa's eyes as she left her sister's arms and ran out of the ship.

"Elsa!" Anna shouted before running after her sister.

Olaf, the riders, and their dragons could only look at the frozen figure of Elsa and Anna's parents with grief. Carlos walked up to the front of the figure. He stared at it with sadness in his eyes. He could almost imagine that his parents held each close before their ship sank. Hiccup and Audrey placed their hands on his shoulder while Merida placed hers on his back. Carlos glimpsed at the three riders over his shoulder before looking down at his feet. He walked past them and went outside the ship. The three and four dragons glanced at each other and ran after Carlos. When they gathered at where the sisters are, they noticed that Elsa seemed upset.

"This is my fault, they were looking for answers about me." Elsa admitted as she leaned on a boulder.

"You are not responsible for their choices, Elsa." Anna defended with her hand on Elsa's arm.

"No, just their deaths." Elsa accused herself, walking away from Anna.

"Stop. No." Anna ordered, running after Elsa and got in front of her while holding onto both of Elsa's arms with the riders behind her, "Yelana asked why would the spirits reward Arendelle with a magical queen? Because our mother saved our father."

"She saved her enemy." Merida added.

"Her good deed was rewarded." Hiccup added.

"With you." Audrey added.

"You are a gift." Carlos stated.

"For what?" Elsa asked as Anna held her hands.

"If anyone can resolve the past, if anyone can save Arendelle and free this forest, it's _you_." Anna encouraged Elsa, "I believe in you, Elsa. More than anyone or anything."

Elsa gave a small smile which soon dropped before she turned away from her sister and stared at their parents' wrecked ship.

"Honeymaren said there was a fifth spirit. A bridge between the magic of nature and us." Elsa informed as she turned to her sister and the riders.

"A fifth spirit." Anna said, surprised.

"That's what's been calling me. From Ahtohallan. The answers about the past are all there." Elsa said.

"So we go to Ahtohallan." Anna declared with a smile.

"Not we. Me." Elsa corrected.

"What?" Merida asked, confused.

"The Dark Sea is too dangerous for all of us." Elsa warned.

"No, no-we do this together. Remember the song, 'go too far and you'll be drowned'. Who will stop you from going too far?" Anna protested.

"You said you believed in me, that this is what I was born to do." Elsa retorted.

"And I don't want to stop you from that. I don't want to stop you from being whatever you need to be, I just don't want you dying. Trying to be everything for everyone else too. Don't do this alone. Let us help you, please. I can't lose you, Elsa." Anna begged.

Elsa took a deep breath and let it out. Then she pulled her sister into a hug.

"I can't lose you either, Anna. Come on." Elsa said to Olaf and the riders, gesturing them to join the hug.

They stood back after the hug and soon noticed ice growing underneath their feet.

"Wait, what? What are you doing? Elsa!" Anna yelled as the ice formed into a canoe of some sort which made them fall down in. Then the canoe tipped back, causing them to slide downhill on an icy path made by Elsa. The four dragons were about to go after their riders until they felt the ice beneath them trap their feet. The dragons grunted and groaned before turning to Elsa.

"I have to do this part on my own. Please understand this." Elsa begged the dragons as she wrapped her arms around herself. The dragons looked at one another and grunting at one another before they looked towards Elsa. Toothless warbled as Elsa walked up to him and placed her hand on his snout. He crooned at her touch as he stared at her with his big dilated eyes. She smiled softly at the dragons. "Thank you."

She turned away from the dragons and began walking the other way. But she stopped and turned around to look at the dragons once more. She used her power to thaw the ice beneath the dragons' feet. The dragons glimpsed at their feet and back at Elsa who smiled softly at them and went on her way to Ahtohallan while the dragons went after their riders.

* * *

Meanwhile, Anna, Olaf, Sharpshot, and the riders were riding the ice canoe down the icy path created by Elsa.

"No, no-Olaf, help us stop. Give me a hand!" Anna pleaded. Olaf took off his arm and handed it to Anna who was glad to have it. Then she noticed a low branch coming up ahead and got an idea. "Hang on!" Olaf's arm grabbed onto the branch which caused them to go off the icy path and down into the river, "Come on!" Anna exasperated.

"Guys, this might sound crazy, but I'm sensing some rising anger." Olaf stated as the canoe twirled around as Anna tried to paddle with Olaf's arm only to get hit by a low branch. She then growled in frustration.

"Well, I am angry, Olaf! She promised me we'd do this _together_." Anna stated.

"Yeah, but what I mean is I'm sensing rising anger in _me_." Olaf defined.

This made the others pause in their panic state and turned to Olaf. They never thought that the happiest snowman they know would have an angry feeling in him.

"Wait, _you're_ angry?" Carlos asked, brow arched, confused.

"I think so," Olaf admitted, tapping his head, "Elsa pushed me away too and didn't even say goodbye."

"And you have every right to be very, very mad at her." Anna assured Olaf.

"And you've said some things never change, but since then, everything's done nothing but change." Olaf stated, sadly.

"I know, but look," Anna held up his arm that she was still holding onto, "I'm still here holding your hand."

"Yeah, that's...that's a good point, Anna. I feel better. You're such a good listener-" Olaf began to say.

Anna, Sharpshot, and the riders gasped and Anna quickly tried to cover Olaf's mouth while shushing him. Olaf tried to push her hands away, but she turned his head around to see why they needed to be quiet; sleeping Earth giants.

"Oh, the Giants, they're _huge_." Olaf awed.

They heard the sound of someone inhaling up ahead and saw a giant's nose sticking above the water, Anna and the riders used their hands to paddle away from it as they got closer. The canoe stopped for a second and then the giant exhaled, making the canoe go around the giant's nose. They looked up and saw more giants ahead of them. Then Anna spotted a tunnel nearby.

"Hang on, everyone." Anna said as she paddled towards the tunnel while looking at the giant as they went past it. Then Anna gasped at what she saw ahead. The others turned her way and quietly gasped. "Try not to scream."

The canoe went down a waterfall. Olaf let out a low scream as Anna and the riders shut their eyes and Sharpshot clenched onto Hiccup's sleeve before they hit the bottom. They all swam out and began to wring the water out of their clothes. Somehow, Olaf lost his nose on the way down. Sharpshot shook off the water and perched himself on Hiccup's left shoulder. Anna went over to a dry branch and lit a few sparks, creating a torch and picked it up. Hiccup took out his inferno, lighting up their surroundings.

"Found it." Anna said when she spotted Olaf's nose and picked it up and placed it back on Olaf.

"Thank you." Olaf gurgled as water and a fish came out of his mouth.

"Where are we?" Carlos asked.

"In a pit, with no way out." Anna replied.

"But with this spooky pitch black way in." Olaf said as he pointed at the entrance. Olaf went through the entrance with Anna, Sharpshot, and the riders behind him. When they went through the entrance, it led them to an even bigger and longer tunnel. Olaf turned to Anna and held her hand, "Come on, it'll be fun, assuming we don't get stuck here forever and no one ever finds us and you start and I give up. But bright side...Elsa's gotta be doing a _whole_ lot better than we are."

"**For some strange reason, that doesn't really make me feel any better.**" Sharpshot warbled.

"**Agreed.**" Hiccup agreed.

"**But I really hope that Elsa's okay.**" Sharpshot crooned.

"**Don't worry, Elsa has magical powers. She'll be able to handle herself.**" Hiccup assured the Terrible Terror.

Anna started leading the others through the tunnels. What the group didn't know was that Elsa was trying to tame Nokk, the mystical water spirit, the most difficult one out of the four. But also managed to find the secrets about the past.

* * *

The group soon reached a path that split into two tunnels. Neither knew which one to choose.

"Which lucky tunnel do we choose?" Olaf asked.

At that moment, a flurry of snow came in front of them, forming an ice sculpture. They shield their eyes from the many snowflakes. But then they heard two different male voices as the figure was being revealed to them.

_You see, the Dam will weaken their lands, so they will have to turn to me._

_King Runeard, the Dam is hurting the forest!_

The sculpture revealed to be a man with a cape holding a sword over a Northuldra tribe member who's simply drinking tea. The man seemed unaware of the one with the blade behind him. The group gasped at the figure. Anna walked to the figure, trying to get a closer look at it.

"Elsa's found it." Anna said.

"What is it?" Merida asked.

"The truth about the past," Anna replied, "That's my grandfather, attacking the Northuldra leader who wields no weapon." Anna closed her eyes as she frowned with guilt. She finally realized what this meant, "The Dam wasn't a gift of peace."

"It was a trick." Hiccup stated.

"But that goes against everything Arendelle stands for." Olaf protested.

"It does, doesn't it?" Anna asked as she sat down on a rock.

"Why would he do such a thing?" Carlos questioned, staring at the figure.

"I think he might have felt threatened by the Northuldra magic." Hiccup suggested, studying the figure.

"He probably thought that the Northuldra tribe might rebel against him and thought they might be more powerful than his title as King." Merida said.

"That makes sense. But how do we free the forest?" Audrey asked.

"I know how to free the forest, I know what we have to do, to set things right." Anna stated.

"Why do you say that so sadly?" Olaf asked, worriedly.

"We have to break the Dam." Anna declared.

"But Arendelle will be flooded." Olaf pointed out.

"That's why everyone was forced out, to protect them from what has to be done." Anna said, sadly.

"Oh! Oh," Olaf realized. He walked over to Anna and laid his head down on her lap and Anna placed her hand on his head as she leaned her head on his, "Are you okay?"

"I could really use a bright side, Olaf." Anna begged.

"Bright side? Um…" Olaf pondered as he lifted his head up, "Turtles can breathe through their butts?"

"Huh?" Anna asked, confused.

"And I see a way out." Olaf smiled and Anna and the other looked to where Olaf was looking.

"I knew we could count on you," Anna smiled as she stood up and started walking towards the exit with the other behind her, "Come on, everyone, Elsa's probably on her way back right now, we can meet her and-" Anna stopped when she and the others noticed snowflakes floating past them and turned to where they were coming from which was Olaf, "Olaf?"

"What's this?" Olaf asked, curious when he noticed the snowflakes were coming from him.

"Are you okay?" Audrey asked, worried.

"**Olaf, what's wrong?**" Sharpshot warbled, perched on Hiccup's shoulder.

"I'm flurrying?" Olaf asked as he held his arms out. But then he realized that something was wrong, "Wait, no, that's...that's not it. I'm flurrying, _away_… The magic in me is fading." Olaf realized with wide eyes.

Anna and the others gasped with horror.

"What?" Anna asked, scared.

She knelt down in front of Olaf as she placed the torch down while the others gathered around Anna and Olaf.

"I don't think Elsa's okay," Olaf admitted as Anna's eyes widened with shock, "I think...she may have gone too far."

"No, no." Anna denied while shutting her eyes tightly.

"Anna, guys, I'm sorry," Olaf apologized as Anna opened her eyes and gazed at Olaf, "You're gonna have to do this next part on your own. Okay?"

"Wait, come here," Anna said as she picked up Olaf, placed him in her lap, and held the back of his head and held onto his arms. The others knelt down next to Anna and formed a circle, "We've got you."

"That's good. Hey Anna. I just thought of one thing that's permanent." Olaf said, weakly.

"What's that?" Anna asked, tears beginning to form in her eyes as well as the others.

"Love." Olaf replied.

"Warm hugs?" Anna smiled sadly.

Olaf nodded and Anna hugged him. The riders and Sharpshot joined in the hug. Tears were beginning to fall from the corner of their eyes. More and more snow was flurrying away from Olaf.

"I like warm hugs." Olaf declared, weakly, returning the hug.

"I love you." Anna whispered.

No later than five minutes, Olaf the happiest live snowman had turned back into snow and flew out of the cave. The only things left of him were his branch arms, branch hair, coal buttons, and his carrot nose. The riders held onto Anna as more tears fell from her eyes and theirs as well.

* * *

_Ocean is more ancient than the mountains, and freighted with the memories and the dreams of Time._ \- H. P. Lovecraft


	45. The Next Right Thing

Chapter 45: The Next Right Thing

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

*If you wish to read "The Heart of Voltron" and "The Spirit of a Wolf", they're on my wattpad account.

* * *

The sun began to rise as it beamed into the exit of the cave. Merida and Audrey held Anna, curled up, in their arms as she clutched her bag that had the 'remains' of Olaf while Hiccup, with Sharpshot on his shoulder, sat next to Merida and Carlos sat next to Audrey. They couldn't believe that they had lost Olaf. He was always the one that tried to find a bright side during their situation. It was hard to accept that they couldn't bring him back. But not only had they lost Olaf, they lost Elsa as well. They thought that she would be alright when she had powers.

"Olaf, Elsa, guys, what do we do now?" Anna spoke up.

The riders and Sharpshot glanced at each other and then back to Anna who began to sing.

"_I've seen dark before__, but not like this_

_This is cold, this is empty, this is numb_

_The life I knew is over, the lights are out_

_Hello, darkness, I'm ready to succumb_

_I follow you around, I always have_

_But you've gone to a place I cannot find_

_This grief has a gravity, it pulls me down_

_But a tiny voice whispers in my mind_

_You are lost, hope is gone_

_But you must go on_

_And do the next right thing_."

Anna left Merida and Audrey's arms and knelt on the ground.

"_Can there be a day beyond this night?_

_I don't know anymore what is true_

_I can't find my direction, I'm all alone_

_The only star that guided me was you._

Anna began to stand up as Merida and Audrey helped her up and placed the strap of her bag over her shoulder. Sharpshot jumped off Hiccup's shoulder and hovered next to him.

"_How to rise from the floor?_

_But it's not you I'm rising for_

_Just do the next right thing._

Anna started to walk towards the exit as the riders and Sharpshot followed her.

"_Take a step, step again_

_It is all that I can to do_

_The next right thing._"

Anna started climbing the ledges in front of her. The riders climbed after her. When they reached the top, they saw a ledge not too far from them. Possibly could even jump across.

"_I won't look too far ahead_

_It's too much for me to take_

_But break it down to this next breath, this next step_

_This next choice is one that I can make!_"

Anna ran forward and leaped off the ledge and landed on the other side. The riders ran and leaped onto the ledge one by one with Sharpshot flying after them. Once they were all together, they headed towards the exit of the tunnel.

"_So I'll walk through this night_

_Stumbling blindly toward the light_

_And do the next right thing._"

Anna, Sharpshot, and the riders soon left the cave and stood on a ledge where they could easily see the mist that covered over the trees.

"_And, with it done, what comes then?_

_When it's clear that everything will never be the same again?_

_Then I'll make the choice to hear that voice_

_And do the next right thing._"

The group looked ahead and saw the dam in the distance. With a look of determination, Anna and the riders, Sharpshot flying next to them, went down the mountain side and into the trees. They ran until they reached a cliff where they easily spotted the Earth Giants sleeping against the cliffs in front of them.

"Wake up!" Anna yelled.

The Earth Giants continued to snore.

"WAKE UUUP!" Anna and the riders shouted.

An Earth Giant began to wake and stand, only to fall on another one, waking that one up. The first one landed in the river, splashing water everywhere, and spotted Anna and the riders. He did not seem happy to see the group of humans in front of him.

"That's it." Anna said, turning around and ran the other way with Audrey behind her.

"Come and get us!" Merida yelled, following Anna and Audrey.

"Come on!" Hiccup shouted as he, Sharpshot, and Carlos followed after the girls.

The Earth Giant nearly splat them if they hadn't started running. The giants soon left the river and stood above the trees and went after the group.

"Over here!" Audrey hollered.

Unexpectedly, one of the giants roared causing them to fly forward onto the ground, the trees to bend backwards, and spreading the leaves everywhere. Everyone quickly got to their feet.

"That's right!" Carlos yelled.

"Keep coming!" Anna encouraged the giants.

The giants kept trying to grab them, but failed. So they took boulders from the ground and started throwing them at the group. They stopped in their tracks when they saw a boulder skidded right in front of them.

"That'll work." Anna commented and turned to the giants and waved her arms in the air, "This way, guys!"

The group continued to run, leading the giants to the dam. Every step the giants' took made it harder for the group to actually run. The last one caused them all to trip and they looked up to see a giant holding his foot up, ready to smash them into the ground. But at the last second, Anna was grabbed by her waist while the riders were grabbed by their shoulders and were pulled away from the giant's foot. Anna looked up at the person who saved her and was surprised to see that it was Kristoff who was riding on Sven! The riders looked up to see that their dragons had saved them.

"Kristoff!" Anna gasped.

"I'm here. What do you need?" Kristoff asked.

"To get to the dam." Anna replied.

"You got it." Kristoff said.

"Thank you." Anna thanked Kristoff.

The giants began throwing trees and boulders at the group. The dragons followed after Sven through the trees, causing the giants to lose sight of them and gently dropped their riders near the cliff of the dam. Sven stopped near the cliff as well. The riders quickly got onto to their dragons.

"Help me up!" Anna said.

"Aileana, help Anna!" Merida pointed to Anna.

"**On it!**" Aileana squawked, she hovered over Anna who held her arms up and Aileana gently grabbed her arms to lift her up.

"We'll meet you around!" Kristoff said.

Aileana flapped her wings up and brought Anna to the top. When Aileana got to the top, she gently released Anna on the ground and stood next to her as the other riders came up and landed behind her. The group was surprised to see Mattias and the other soldiers in front of the dam walkway with their swords and shields.

"Lieutenant Mattias." Anna said.

"Your Highness, what are you doing?" Mattias questioned.

"The dam must fall. It's the only way to break the mist and free the Forest." Anna responded.

"But we've sworn to protect Arendelle at all costs." Mattias objected.

"Arendelle has no future until we make this right. King Runeard betrayed everyone." Anna explained.

"How do you know that?" Mattias asked, confused.

"My sister gave her life for the truth," Anna admitted sadly. The other guards were shocked and saddened at Elsa's sacrifice, "Please, before we lose anyone else."

Mattias closed his eyes and sighed. Then he opened his eyes with a look of determination and raised his shield and began to bang his sword against his shield and the soldiers followed his example. However that action was causing the dragons to shake their heads at the noise. The riders leaned forwards in their saddles and covered their ears with their hands over them. Anna looked over her shoulder and saw that the banging had caught the giants' attention and she quickly ran past the guards. The giants began throwing boulders at them.

"Look out!" Mattias yelled.

Mattias ran towards another soldier and dove towards him, getting his out of the way of the boulder. The riders pulled on the saddles and directed the dragons to avoid the falling boulders. Once they were out of the way, they spotted Anna running along the walkway of the dam and stopped.

"Destroy the dam! Come on! Throw your boulders!" Anna shouted towards the giants. A boulder came towards her and smashed a large piece of the walkway in front of her. "That's it."

Anna ran the other way, only for another boulder to break a large part of the walkway and made her run the other way. But as she ran, the walkway was quickly collapsing apart behind her. Seeing a part of the edge fall off in front of her, Anna leaped off the edge. But the distance to the other ledge got too far. Just when she missed the ledge, a hand grabbed onto hers. She looked up and saw Mattias on the ledge, holding onto her hand.

"I've got her!" Mattias called out. Kristoff laid down next to him and held his hand out to Anna. Hiccup and Carlos got behind the two men and grabbed the back of their shirts, ready to pull them.

"Anna!" Kristoff yelled.

Anna grabbed Kristoff's hand.

"Hang on!" Mattias said.

Hiccup and Carlos pulled the two men as they pushed themselves up to sit up as they pulled Anna up into Kristoff's arms. The five sighed in relief, but then they gasped as they and the others watched the dam collapse and the tidal wave head towards Arendelle.

* * *

Unknown to them, a large symbol of a colorful snowflake pattern appeared in the sky, catching the attention of the air, fire, and earth spirit. Elsa had been unfrozen and the ice broke beneath her, sending her to fall into the water which caught the attention of Nokk, the water spirit.

* * *

Just when the tidal wave was about to hit the castle, Elsa appeared, riding on Nokk, stood in front of the tidal wave and summoned her ice power to form a wall which blocked the enormous wave. The water clashed against the wall. With another wave of her magic, the ice wall disappeared and the water went in the other direction and soon settled down. The wind blew against the Arendelle flags, the rock road was settled, water was pouring down a waterfall near a bridge with two Arendelle flags on it, and the lamp posts were lit. The people of the kingdom along with the trolls cheered. Their kingdom was safe once again. Pabbie gazed at Elsa with proudness in his eyes as Elsa looked up at the people and the kingdom, she was glad that she made it in time and saved the kingdom. Then she directed Nokk to go in the direction of the valley.

* * *

Back at the Enchanted Forest, the mist began to lift as everyone was walking towards the entrance to the forest. The earth giants, Gale, and Bruni were surprised to see the mist disappearing. Kristoff was walking with Anna next to him, his arm wrapped around her shoulder. The riders were walking next to their dragons with the Northuldra tribe members and the Arendellian soldiers behind them. When they reached the end of the forest, the mist was gone and a clear blue sky appeared in front of them.

"I'm sorry I left you behind. I was just so desperate to protect her." Anna apologized to Kristoff.

"I know. I know. It's okay. My love is not fragile." Kristoff assured her as he held her close to him which caused them both to smile.

"Wow. Look at the sky." Ryder awed as he and Honeymaren stared at the bright blue sky. Honeymaren chuckled as she slightly nudged him, "I just didn't realize there was so much of it."

"34 years…" Mattias started.

"Five months…" Yelana continued.

"And 23 days." Mattias finished.

The two smiled at each other. Mattias held his elbow out and Yelana looped her arm around his. The two started to walk out. Then all of the reindeer ran out of the forest and into the fields with Sven leading, forming a huge circle. Everyone smiled at them as they ran while walking out of the forest. However, Anna stayed behind and gazed at them with sadness in her eyes. She wished that Elsa would be able to see this. At that moment, a small gust of wind blew around her. Anna followed the wind and turned to see a snowflake pattern in front of her. She reached out to touch it, but then it flew away and went out of sight over a cliff. She followed after it and saw the sea in front of her. Then she heard the sound of a horse neighing. She squinted her eyes and saw a figure in the distance. She gasped at the sight of the figure who was coming in and she quickly climbed down the cliff and walked onto the rocky shore. The figure was a woman who was sitting on a horse made of water while wearing a beautiful dress. The horse stopped at the shore and let the figure dismount. The horse went back into the water. Anna knew who this woman: Elsa!

"Is it really you?" Anna asked.

"Anna." Elsa said as she held her arms out to her sister.

Anna ran towards her sister and wrapped her arms around as her sister hugged her back. Anna began crying.

"I thought I'd lost you." Anna stated.

"Lost me?" Elsa questioned as the two released each other and staring at each other as Elsa held Anna's hand and wiped away Anna's tears, "You _saved_ me. _Again_."

"I did?" Anna sniffed, trying to stop her tears.

"And Anna, Arendelle did not fall." Elsa said.

"It didn't?" Anna asked, sniffed.

"The spirits all agreed. Arendelle deserves to stand with _you_." Elsa stated. Anna wiped her nose with her sleeve.

"Me?" Anna asked, confused.

"You did what was right. For everyone." Elsa responded.

"Did you find the fifth spirit?" Anna asked. Elsa just smiled at her. Anna realized who the fifth spirit was, "You _are _the fifth spirit. You're the bridge."

"Well, actually, a bridge has two sides and Mother had two daughters. We did this together and we'll continue to do this together." Elsa declared as she leaned her forehead against Anna's.

"Together." Anna agreed as she intertwined her hands with Elsa's.

"Elsa!" Kristoff yelled, coming down the cliff with the riders on their dragons.

"You're okay!" Audrey exclaimed as the dragons landed and the riders dismounted.

Kristoff ran over and hugged Elsa. He let go and Merida and Audrey hugged. After the three girls hugged, Hiccup and Carlos came over and hugged her. They let go and the dragons came over and nuzzled against her which caused her to chuckle at their affections while Sharpshot perched onto her shoulder and nuzzled her cheek. The dragons back away and let Sven come to Elsa as she petted his muzzle.

"You look different." Hiccup pointed out.

"Did you cut your hair or something?" Kristoff asked as he leaned against Sven.

"Or something." Elsa smiled as Anna put her hand on her shoulder and Elsa placed her hand over hers.

"Oh." Kristoff realized.

The sisters separated as they smiled. Then they heard Gale floating around. Elsa turned to Anna.

"Anna, I need to ask you a question." Elsa said with a sad look.

"Okay." Anna said.

"Do you want to build a snowman?" Elsa asked, smiling.

"What?" Anna asked, confused.

Elsa closed her eyes and a few seconds later, a flurry of snow came over the cliff and flew around them.

"Thank goodness, water has memory." Elsa said with a twirl of her hand, Olaf's figure was formed.

Anna smiled happily at the snowman. She quickly knelt down in front of the snowman and took out his branch arms, hair twigs, coal buttons, and signature carrot nose from her bag. She put all of the objects where they belonged. Then Olaf opened his eyes and was surprised to see who was in front of him.

"Anna. Elsa! Kristoff and Sven! Hiccup, Toothless, Sharpshot! Merida and Aileana! Carlos and Cielo! Audrey and Quicksilver!" Olaf said as everyone smiled at the snowman. The snowman smiled while chuckling, "You all came back. Oh, I love happy endings." Everyone gathered in a group hugged around the snowman and then back away to stand up, "I mean, I presume we're done or is this "putting us in mortal danger" situation gonna be a regular thing?"

Elsa chuckled at that and stood up.

"No, we're done." Elsa said as she patted his head.

"Actually," Kristoff interjected, "There is one more thing." Krist knelt down on one knee in front of Anna, "Anna, you are the most extraordinary person I've ever known." Anna placed her hands over her mouth, "I love you with all I am." Kristoff took out the ring from his vest and held it out to her, "Will you marry you?"

"Yes!" Anna squealed and leaped into his arms.

Kristoff was relieved as he held Anna in his arms. Sven began to cry as Elsa, Olaf, and the riders smiled softly at the new couple. Kristoff picked up Anna by the waist and twirled around and then stopped and put her back on her feet. The two kissed as Elsa and Sven walked over to them. Anna turned to Elsa and held her hand as Kristoff turned to Sven and petted his head. Olaf gasped and the others turned to see what it was: earth giants. They were shocked to see them. The strange thing was that they weren't attacking them, they were just standing there. Elsa walked over to them with Anna holding her hand. One of the earth giants bowed his head down in front of the girls. Elsa and Anna reached their hands out and placed their hands on its nose.

* * *

A few minutes later, the group reunited with the Arendellians soldiers and the Northuldra tribe. Anna ran over to Mattias and held onto his hands.

"Arendelle's okay." Anna assured.

"What?" Mattias asked, shocked.

"Elsa arrived just in time to stop the wave from hitting Arendelle." Hiccup said.

"Thank goodness." Mattias let out a sigh of relief.

"Ahtohallan is beautiful." Elsa told Yelana and Honeymaren as she held their hands. Bruni jumped up which made her let go of the two women's hands and let Bruni onto her hands, "Oh! Hello." Bruni started rubbing himself against her hands while making happy noises. She laughed at his cuteness.

"You know, you belong up here." Honeymaren stated.

"I took an oath to always do what's best for Arendelle. Luckily, I know just what that is." Elsa said as she stroked Bruni's head and looked up to see her sister, watching their friends leaving the forest. Anna turned and smiled as she ran to her sister and hugged her once more.

"While I still don't know what "transformation" means...I feel like this Forest has really changed us all." Olaf commented.

"You know, I think you might be right, Olaf." Carlos agreed.

* * *

The group and the Arendellian soldiers had arrived back to Arendelle and the citizens were able to return to their homes. Anna had told everyone that Elsa had to stay at the Enchanted Forest with the Northuldra tribe because she was now known as the fifth spirit who protects the Enchanted Forest. Because Anna was the second heir to the throne, she would become Queen. While in preparation for the coronation, Hiccup was helping the blacksmiths make a few things needed for the ceremony. A few days later, Anna had become queen of Arendelle.

It was a nice and sunny day at the kingdom of Arendelle, Anna was leaving the royal tent while everyone was outside clapping and cheering for her.

"Present Her Majesty, Queen Anna of Arendelle!" Kai announced.

Anna smiled at the citizens as she picked up part of her dress and walked down the stairs and went through the crowd.

"Oh! Hello. Hi." Anna greeted. Then she noticed sitting up proudly while wearing an Arendelle bow tie. "Sven, don't you look nice."

She scratched his chin. Then she heard Olaf cough deeply and she turned around to see the snowman wearing a fancy suit.

"Oh, my goodness! Olaf!" Anna gasped, surprised.

"Charmed, I'm sure." Olaf said in a gentlemanly voice.

"Charming." Anna chuckled as she did a small curtsy.

"You look beautiful, Anna." Merida complimented as she and the other riders along with the dragons stood behind him.

"Thank you, Merida." Anna said, smiling.

Anna had her hair in a bun which was similar to her mother's and was wearing a jade green gown and a beautiful tiara that Hiccup and the other blacksmiths had made for her. The riders were all wearing formal Arendelle coronation gowns and suits. Luckily, they found a fancy gown for Merida that didn't require a corset. The dragons had Arendellian medals around their necks.

"Your majesty." Kristoff greeted.

"Kristoff." Anna said, surprised to see Kristoff wearing a formal wear with his hair slicked back while holding his hand out to her with a small bow. She placed her hand in his, "Aw, did you guys get all dressed up for me?"

"It was Sven's idea." Olaf responded, pointing at the smiling Sven.

"One hour. You get this for one hour." Kristoff declared.

"That's okay," Anna grabbed his collar and pulled him towards, giving him a kiss on his cheek and messed up his hair a little, "I prefer you in leather anyway."

Kristoff chuckled as Anna walked past him. Olaf made weird noises and they turned to him and were surprised that he no longer had his suit on.

"I'm shocked you can last an hour. That was brutal." Olaf commented as he put his coal buttons back on as Olaf began walking away, "The things we do for love."

Kristoff, Sven, Olaf, the riders, and dragons followed the crowd which led to an intersection. In the middle of it was something tall that had a golden colored cloak over it. Anna and Mattias stood in front of it and pulled the cloak down to reveal a statue of the former king and queen of Arendelle, Elsa and Anna's parents when they were younger. Their father dressed in Arendelle clothes while their mother dressed as a Northuldra member.

"Our lands and people, now connected by love." Anna said as she stared at the statue of her parents. Then she spotted Gale, two pinkish red leaves, swirling around the statue and around her waist, "Hi Gale. You like it?" Meaning the statue. She quickly took out a message in the shape of a bird and held it out to Gale, "Oh, do you mind? I've got a message for my sister."

Gale lifted the message from Anna's hands and flew it into the sky and over Arendelle.

* * *

The message passed through the clouds and went to the entrance of the Enchanted Forest. It flew past a few trees until a hand caught it. The hand belonged to Elsa who had Bruni on her shoulder.

"Thank you." Elsa said to Gale as she opened the message and Bruni moved closer to see it, "Charades Friday night. Don't be late. And don't worry, Arendelle's doing just fine. Keep looking after the Forest. I love you." Elsa looked up with a smile, "I love you, too, sis." Then she looked up at the trees, "Hey, Gale? We're going for a ride, wanna come?" Gale flew past with a flurry of snow. Then Nokk appeared from the water and walked over to Elsa who held her hand out to him, "You ready?" She placed her forehead against Nokk's and put her hand on his cheek, causing a frost to cover his body.

He neighed happily as he trotted onto the land. He let Elsa onto his back and began running through the forest. She ran past Ryder and Honeymaren who were both riding a reindeer. An Earth giant bent down and let Rokk ride around his shoulders and onto the ledge. Elsa and Nokk continued riding through the forest. Bruni was bouncing from tree to tree with his flames. He scurried around the tree and ran on the ground. Elsa summoned a few snowflakes behind and Bruni gleefully tried catching most of them. Then she summoned a pile of snow and Bruni jumped into while making happy noises as his flames went off and steam was rising from. Elsa and Nokk finally arrived at the beach and ran across the frozen sea that led to Ahtohallan. Elsa sighed happily and continued towards Ahtohallan.

* * *

_Doing the right thing is not the problem. Knowing what the right thing is, that's the challenge._ — Lyndon B. Johnson


	46. The City of Rome

Chapter 46: The City of Rome

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

Anna had told them that they spotted Cielo's mother a few months ago before the riders had arrived at Arendelle and predicted that she might have landed near Rome. Kristoff also said that he saw her flying off in that direction when he was on the mountains one time. But the riders visited Grand Pappie again and asked him if she was near Rome. Luckily he said yes. Then they got ready to pack for their journey ahead.

Right now at the moment, the gang was at the docks, ready to fly to Rome. Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf stood in front of them with saddened expressions.

"We're going to miss you guys." Anna said.

"We will, too." Merida said as she and Anna hugged.

"Don't worry, we'll see each other again." Audrey assured her.

"When?" Olaf asked.

"Someday." Hiccup replied.

All of the riders hugged their friends goodbye before they mounted their dragons.

"Safe travels, everyone." Elsa prayed.

The riders nodded and the dragons flapped their wings. They turned away from the docks and flew into the sky, leaving the kingdom of Arendelle behind them.

"Good luck." Anna prayed to the riders.

* * *

The sun was still out as the dragon riders were flying over the ocean and soon across a forest when something suddenly popped out to the right of them which shocked the both of them. They turned in that direction and saw something white flying away. The two turned in the direction where the flying creature was going. They knew it wasn't a bird, it was bigger than a bird which led to a possible conclusion: a dragon. But Hiccup wondered what kind of dragon it was. Hiccup and the other riders turned around and went after the dragon. But suddenly the dragon disappeared after it shot out a fire blast and dove towards it.

"What the heck was that?" Audrey asked.

"I have a feeling that it was a dragon." Hiccup replied.

"But what kind it was is the question." Carlos pointed out.

"Agreed," Hiccup agreed, "Let's land somewhere for now."

The riders nodded and flew to a clearing up ahead.

By mid afternoon, the riders dismounted and unsaddled their dragons. Merida and Audrey began collecting wood for the fire while Hiccup and Carlos went fishing and their dragons waited at their camp. Once they got enough for everyone, they headed back to camp. They gave half to their dragons while they put theirs on sticks and cooked them near the fire. When the dragons finished their meal, Toothless spotted a butterfly and decided to chase after and the other dragons followed after him. The riders glanced at each other and chuckled lightly. There were times that they thought that their dragons were more like big cats than of dragons.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

The four riders turned around and saw a girl with long black hair and violet colored eyes wearing a strange outfit. She was holding a sword out, which was pointing at the group. To Hiccup and Carlos, the encounter was similar to the one when they met Merida.

"Uh...hi?" Hiccup greeted, nervously.

The girl in front of them arched her eyebrows at Hiccup's greeting.

"We're travelers. We came to explore the city of Rome." Hiccup explained.

"We're also looking for someone." Carlos added.

"And who would that be?" The girl asked with narrow eyes.

Suddenly all of their dragons leapt in front of them, protecting their riders from the armed girl who stood before them. The girl stepped back in shock when she saw the creatures.

"Are those…dragons?" She asked, shocked.

"Yes, they are." Hiccup answered.

"Are they responsible for stealing our fish?" The girl asked.

"What do you mean?" Audrey asked, confused.

"Have you been taking our fish near the harbor?" The girl asked.

"No, we were fishing from the river." Hiccup replied.

"If your dragons weren't taking the fish, then what kind of dragon is taking them?" The girl asked.

"Not sure," Hiccup concluded, "By the way, who are you?"

"I'm Roana." 'Roana' introduced.

"I'm Hiccup."

"Carlos."

"Merida."

"Audrey."

"What about your dragons?" Roana asked.

"Toothless and Sharpshot."

"Cielo."

"Aileana."

"Quicksilver."

"Pleasure to meet you all." Roana greeted, "But what are you _really_ doing here?"

"We're mostly here to look for Cielo's mother." Carlos replied.

"Your dragon's mother?" Roana asked, curious.

"Yes, Cielo got separated from his mom in a storm and we've been looking for her while we're exploring." Carlos replied.

"From all of the clues we've found, we know that she's somewhere near the city. Out of sight from humans," Hiccup added, "Did you see a dragon like Cielo, but only bigger?"

"I'm afraid not. But my father has spoken of something big flying by the city a few months ago." Roana said.

"Your father?" Hiccup asked.

"Gaius Marius. He's my adoptive father." Roana replied.

"Do you think that you can help us get into the city?" Audrey asked.

"Well, since you're not from around here, I suppose I'll have to," Roana suggested, "But only if you promise to help him with this dragon problem."

"What kind of problem is it?" Hiccup asked.

"A dragon has been stealing barrels of fish every other week. My father had said that if they don't figure out why it's doing that, they'll capture it and kill it." Roana informed him.

"I see." Hiccup pondered.

"Do you know why?" Roana asked.

"Not sure. But we should meet with your father to think of a plan." Hiccup decided.

"Alright then. Grab your stuff and let's head to the city." Roana declared.

* * *

The dragons hid in the woods, except Sharpshot who hid in the hood of Hiccup's cloak, as their riders put on cloaks and followed Roana into the city. The city was beautiful. The group saw many things as they followed Roana. There were stands that had different weapons, jewelry, loaves of bread, meat, even farming animals. Many of the people were wearing clothing similar to Roana's, but there were others who wore a more fancy and beautiful kind. They soon entered a large building where Roana led them through. She made sure that they would avoid every guard every time they passed through the halls until they reached a door. Roana knocked on it.

"Who is it?" An older male voice asked behind the door.

"It's Roana." Roana answered.

"Come in." The voice said.

Roana grabbed the handle of the door and let the group in first and she entered last. She closed the door behind and went over to the front of the group. There was a desk and behind the desk, sat a bald man with white hair and a beard, wearing a strange set of clothes that almost seemed fit for royalty. He was writing something down at the moment and he looked up at the group in front of his desk. He was surprised to see them with his daughter standing in front of them.

"Roana, who are these people?" The man asked, brow arched.

"Travelers. They want to help us with the dragon problem." Roana replied.

"What makes you so sure that we can trust them?" The man asked, curious.

"They have dragons of their own." Roana explained.

Then Sharpshot popped up from Hiccup's hood. The man was intrigued by the little dragon as he stood up from his chair and walked over to Hiccup.

"Is that…?" The man trailed off, pointing at Sharpshot.

"Yes, from where I was from, he's known as a Terrible Terror. As a matter of fact, all kinds of dragons are in many shapes and sizes." Hiccup replied.

"Really?" The man asked, intrigued. Hiccup nodded.

"By the way, who are you?" Hiccup questioned.

"I'm Gaius Marius." The man introduced himself to the group.

"It's a pleasure to meet you sir." Hiccup greeted, "I'm Hiccup."

"Carlos."

"Merida."

"Audrey."

"Pleasure to meet you. I believe you've met my adoptive daughter, Roana." Gaius introduced the girl next to Hiccup. Roana waved at him with a smile, which made him relax for a moment. But he had to look back at Marius.

"Yes, sir." Hiccup said.

"Quite a timid boy you are." Gaius commented.

"Sorry sir." Hiccup apologized. He never liked to apologize to anyone who judged him about his size.

"No need to apologize." Gaius comforted the young man.

"Thank you, sir." Hiccup thanked Gaius.

"So," Gaius went back to his desk and sat down in his seat, "My daughter said that you have dragons. Does that mean that you know of a way to deal with the dragon?"

"Yes sir. We all bonded with our own dragons." Carlos responded.

"We're good friends with them, too." Audrey added.

"They'll only attack if you try to harm us." Merida added.

"I see." Marius understood as he rubbed his chin.

"Would it be alright if you would let us handle the dragon problem?" Hiccup requested.

"You have my permission to help us. We wish for you all to solve this quickly. That dragon has been scaring most of our fishermen and we want to get rid of it." Gaius informed.

"Father…" Roana interrupted.

"Sir, dragons are kind, loyal, and intelligent creatures," Hiccup reasoned, "There must be a reason why it's doing this."

Gaius sighed. Not only is his daughter suggesting they handle the dragon delicately, now the young viking and his friends in front of him as well. Throughout early history, dragons have been a threat towards human society and have caused nothing but trouble for them just like the one that's bothering them now. But when he saw the boy with the little dragon on his shoulder, he could easily see that the two have quite a bond. Not to mention how loyal the dragon is to the boy. He sighed once more before turning towards the boy.

"What do you suggest we do, Hiccup?" Gaius questioned.

"Maybe my friends and I can follow it when it comes here for the fish. Then we can see where it's taking the fish." Hiccup suggested.

"That's your plan?" Gaius asked, brow arched.

"For the moment, yes." Hiccup replied.

"Very well." Gaius agreed.

"May I come along, father?" Roana asked.

"Why would you want to go, Roana?" Marius questioned.

"I want to see what kind of dragon it is. Not to mention that I want to help Hiccup and the riders." Roana answered. Gaius sighed once more.

"Very well then." Gaius agreed.

* * *

_Rome is the city of echoes, the city of illusions, and the city of yearning. - _Giotto di Bondone


	47. A Light Fury

Chapter 47: A Light Fury

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

It was the next morning when the dragon riders planned out what to do when the dragon would come back to get more fish. Roana had told them that the dragon usually comes around late in the evening. So they tried to figure out the possible hiding spots where the dragon might be hiding. Luckily Marius warned his people about their dragons ahead of time. That way, _they _won't be shot at while looking for the dragon. At that moment, Roana and the riders were getting ready to follow the plan.

"So you know a lot about dragons, right?" Roana asked.

"Yeah, I do. I've been studying and interacting with them since I was fourteen." Hiccup told her.

"That's also when you met Toothless, right?" Roana asked.

"He was my only friend when we met, but now, we have even more friends." Hiccup replied, petting Toothless's head.

"It sounds amazing to have a dragon." Roana commented.

"It is, when you ride on the back of a dragon, the world just opens up to you." Hiccup stated.

"Wow." Roana awed, petting Toothless's head, "I wish I had a dragon."

"Maybe you might, Roana, someday." Hiccup assured her.

"I hope so, Hiccup." Roana said.

At that moment, they heard the sound of a horn coming from a distance. The riders quickly mounted their dragons and Roana mounted on Toothless and wrapped her arms around Hiccup's waist from behind. Hiccup's breath hitched at that moment. He didn't know why, he had Rapunzel as a passenger before and her touch never made a reaction out of him. However for Roana, it was different. But he decided to leave the feeling on the back burner and focus on the dragon that was near the harbor. They shot into the sky and headed towards the harbor. When they got there, they spotted the white dragon taking off with a net full of fish who flew right by them.

"After it!" Hiccup ordered as he and the other riders went after the dragon.

* * *

They pursued the dragon below the cloud line, making sure that the dragon wouldn't spot them. It was lucky that the dragon hadn't yet. The dragon soon flew above the tree and disappeared into it. The dragon riders followed after.

"She disappeared." Carlos stated.

"Now what?" Roana asked.

"We'll have to continue on foot I guess." Hiccup suggested.

The riders spotted a clearing where they could land. They turned towards the clearing and the dragon carefully landed onto the ground and the riders dismounted.

"Judging by the direction of the wind, the dragon must have headed North of where we are now," Hiccup explained as he took out his compass and looked at the direction where the arrow was pointing to, "We'll head North."

He walked in that direction with Roana, the riders and their dragons behind him.

* * *

An hour had gone by as the group walked through the forest. No sight of the dragon at all. Hiccup stopped walking along with the others and let out a sigh of defeat.

"So now what?" Audrey asked.

Before Hiccup could say anything, Toothless ran past him and jumped over the bushes.

"Toothless?" Hiccup called out, confused.

Toothless's head popped up from behind the bushes. A fish's tail was sticking out of his mouth.

"**I found a fish!**" Toothless warbled happily, "**Actually, a whole trail of fish!**"

"A trail?" Hiccup asked as he went over to Toothless and looked over his shoulder and saw the trail of fishes up ahead of them, "A trail! That's how we'll be able to find the dragon!" He patted Toothless's head, "Good job, Toothless."

"**Thank you!**" Toothless warbled before swallowing the rest of the fish in his mouth.

"Okay, we'll follow the fish trail." Hiccup declared.

So the group followed the trail of fish.

* * *

The trail soon led the group to a clearing where they saw a dragon eating a large amount of fish. The large dragon was identified as a female Stormcutter and appeared to be injured. But this dragon looked familiar to them. Cielo was the one who immediately recognized the dragon in front of them.

"**MOM!**" Cielo roared as he hopped over to the dragon who turned her head when she heard Cielo.

"**SON!**" Cielo's mom roared back as she limped towards her son.

The two nuzzled each other once they stood in front of each other.

"**I knew that I would find you.**" Cielo crooned.

"**Oh my boy, I missed you so much.**" Cielo's mother crooned.

The dragon riders watched as Cielo was nuzzling against his mother. It felt good that they finally found her. But before they could walk over to the mother and son, a white dragon blocked them from coming near the two Stormcutters.

"**Is that…**" Toothless started with wide eyes.

"A Night Fury?" Hiccup finished with wide eyes.

Hiccup and Toothless couldn't believe it. Right in front of them was a Night Fury! But this one was very different from Toothless. Instead of black scales, this one had white scales and blue eyes. Not to mention that she was a little bit smaller than Toothless. Hiccup realized that this was a _female_ Night Fury.

"**It's okay, miss Night Fury!**" Cielo roared out to the Night Fury who looked over at Cielo, "**They're my friends. We can trust them!"**

The female Night Fury glanced between Cielo and the dragon riders. She noticed that the humans hadn't made any moves to harm the dragons beside them. But she would keep an eye on them for now as she let the group pass her.

"**Mom, there's some friends I want you to meet.**" Cielo warbled and gazed over at Carlos and the other riders as they stood in front of Cielo and his mother.

"**Who are they?**" She asked.

"**Mom, I would like you to meet my friends. This boy is Carlos. The boy next to him is Hiccup and his Night Fury, Toothless along with his Terrible Terror, Sharpshot.**" Cielo warbled.

"**Hi.**" Toothless, Sharpshot, and Hiccup greeted.

"**Aileana and her rider, Merida.**"

"**Hello.**" Aileana warbled.

"**Quicksilver and her rider, Audrey.**"

"**Pleasure to meet you.**" Quicksilver nodded her head.

"**And that's Roana, our new friend.**" Cielo nodded his head towards Roana who stood next to Hiccup and Toothless.

"**Riders?**"

"**Yeah, we let them ride on our backs.**" Cielo answered.

"**You trust these humans?**"

"**Of course I do, mom. Carlos was the one who took care of me when I got lost after the storm ended.**"

"**He did?**"

"**Yes.**"

Cielo's mother slightly limped over to Carlos. She stared at Carlos with serious, yet curious eyes. Carlos inhaled and let out his breath, turned his head away, and held his palm out. He soon felt a snout against his palm. He opened his eyes and turned to Cielo's mother. Then he smiled and placed his other hand on her cheek.

"You don't have a name, do you?" Carlos asked and Cielo's mother shook her head 'no', "Then I shall name you...Soleada."

"Soleada means "sunny", right Carlos?" Hiccup pondered.

"Correct. I thought it would be more fitting since she has alot of yellow scales around her face. So she kind of looks like the sun in the clear blue sky." Carlos explained.

'Soleada' purred at the meaning of her name and nuzzled her cheek against Carlos's. Carlos chuckled at her affection. He was beyond happy that they finally found her. Meanwhile, the female Night Fury was shocked at how the adult Stormcutter trusted the human boy so easily. Not to mention the other dragons as well.

"You know, I don't really think the white Night Fury should be called a Night Fury." Roana commented.

"Then what do you think she should be called?" Hiccup questioned, "How about a Bright Fury?"

"A _Light_ Fury." Roana answered.

"Yeah, yours is probably better." Hiccup admitted.

"**How can you trust that human so easily?**" The 'Light' Fury asked.

"**He saved and took care of my son when he was lost. For that I'm very grateful towards him.**" Soleada warbled.

"**How do you know that he won't turn on you?**" The Light Fury grunted.

"**If he did, then why is my son in perfect health and why does he let the boy ride on his back?**" Soleads warbled.

The Light Fury pondered on that.

"**You could have a rider.**" Cielo suggested.

"**I don't trust humans.**" The Light Fury growled.

"**Why don't you give these ones a chance?**" Soleada recommended, "**Not all humans are bad.**"

The Light Fury looked towards the group. She noticed how at ease the dragons were around this group of humans. It made her ponder on how they gained each other's trust. At that moment, Roana slowly walked towards the Light Fury. The dragon turned and stared warily at the girl. For some strange reason, the two couldn't look away from one another. When Roana stood in front of her, she held her palm out and closed her eyes as she turned her head away. The Light Fury knew that humans were never to be trusted, but seeing the other dragons standing beside their humans made her think about her opinion of them. Taking a chance, she closed her eyes and pressed her muzzle against Roana's palm. Roana's eyes opened and turned to the Light Fury who pressed her muzzle against her palm. She smiled as she pet the dragon's head which made the dragon purr with satisfaction.

"So what are you going to name her?" Hiccup asked.

"Luna." Roana answered.

"**Why?**/Why?" 'Luna' and Hiccup pondered.

"Because she reminds me of the moon. The beauty that shines in the night, lighting the land when the sun goes down." Roana replied as she ran her hand over Luna's white scales.

"**I like it.**" Luna purred.

* * *

_It's the connection we can't explain. It's the relationship that is unlike any other. - Kirsten Corley_


	48. Terror Mail

Chapter 48: Terror Mail

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

Valka sat on the edge of a small cliff inside of the Dragon Sanctuary. She watched all of the dragons flying around and the younger ones playing with each other. But she had something on her mind, her son Hiccup. She hadn't heard anything from him yet which worried her greatly. She assumed that he would head straight to Rome. It had been several months since he left the sanctuary. However she had a strange feeling that he was taking a long detour before reaching Rome. She sighed heavily as she leaned her head against her open palm.

"**Valka, is something wrong?**"

Valka turned at the voice and saw her dragon, Cloudjumper, a Stormcutter, looking at her with worry. She sighed once more.

"I'm worried, Cloudjumper." Valka replied.

"**About Hiccup?**" Cloudjumper asked.

Valka nodded.

"**I'm sure he's fine. He must have taken a detour or two before going to Rome. Not to mention that Toothless and Sharpshot won't let anything bad happen to him.**" Cloudjumper told her.

"You think so?" Valka asked.

"**I know so.**" Cloudjumper assured her and pressed his cheek against her which caused her to smile a little. At that moment, the two heard a dragon chirping and turned to see a familiar Terrible Terror flying towards them.

"Sharpshot!" Valka shouted as she leapt to her feet and ran towards the dragon. She gently grabbed the dragon and held him close to her chest, "Oh, it's so good to see you!"

"**It's good to see you too, Valka.**" Sharpshot greeted.

"Indeed it is," Valka said and then noticed the tube that was attached to Sharpshot, "Is that a letter from Hiccup?"

"**Yup.**" Sharpshot replied.

Valka gently took out the letter in the tube and began to read Hiccup's letter.

_Dear Mom,_

_Just want to let you know that I'm doing okay. Toothless and I have made a few detours on the way to Rome. Our first detour was in the kingdom of Avalor where we met a boy named Carlos and his Stormcutter, Cielo. We also met a princess named Elena. She actually went through a terrible ideal. She's the same age as us and she's trying very hard to try and rule her kingdom before she becomes Queen. But according to her council, she has to be of age in order to become Queen. However she's now the Crowned Princess. But all of us know that she'll become a great queen. Her culture is quite amazing especially when it came to their food, music, and traditions. Not to mention the creatures that live here as well. They have this really great sweet treat known as chocolate. All of us really enjoyed it. I'll admit that I soon got addicted to it._

_After leaving Avalor with Carlos and Cielo, we made another detour in the king of Corona. There we met a famous thief known as Flynn Rider. When he met him, he was being chased and he dragged us along with him. While we were being chased, we looked for a place to hide and we came across a cave which led us to a clearing that had a very tall tower and in that tower lived a girl named Rapunzel. She had long gold blonde hair that was at least 70 feet long! But this hair was special. It could heal the sick and injured. She actually used her hair to restore my left foot and Toothless's tail! After some crazy encounters and situations, we found out that Rapunzel is the lost princess of Corona._

_We then arrived in Scotland. You wouldn't believe how much wilderness there is here. We met King Fergus, who is known as the Bear King. He has a daughter who's around our age and three sons who are triplets. They're very young and quite the troublemakers who can practically get away with almost anything. The kids were very interested with our dragons and you should have seen the looks on their faces. However, their mother, Queen Elinor, wasn't very comfortable with them at first. But we were able to show her that our dragons meant no harm towards her family. We also found a Deadly Nadder in the area and she chose Merida as her rider._

_After leaving Scotland with Merida joining us, we arrived near the kingdom of Camelot. There we met Lady Juliana and her two daughters, Audrey and her older sister Kayley. Their father was a knight in the kingdom of Camelot. However he died when he protected King Arthur from an evil knight named Ruber. Unexpectedly, he invaded Lady Juliana's home and captured our dragons. His plan was to use Juliana to sneak him into Camelot to kill King Arthur and take over Camelot. But he needed King Arthur's sword, Excalibur, in order to do that. Unfortunately, his pet Griffin lost it in a place of untold danger: The Forbidden Forest. So Carlos, Merida, and I joined Audrey and Kayley to go find the sword. In the forest, we met a man named Garrett who helped guide us through the forest. In a certain part of the forest which was known as Dragon Country and the dragons there were not friendly. But we met a talking two headed dragon named Devon and Cornwall. Let's just say the two never agreed on anything and were complete opposites. Near the end of our journey, they finally agreed on a few things. Long story short, we managed to defeat Ruber and save Camelot. We also gained another rider, Audrey and her dragon is a female Razorwhip named Quicksilver._

_As we left Camelot and went over the sea, we reunited with Rapunzel and Eugene. They told us that they were going to Arendelle to attend a coronation. They invited us along and we agreed to the kingdom. We soon arrived in Arendelle. The kingdom is absolutely beautiful. It turns out that trolls really do exist because we saw a huge family of them. No joke at all. We also met Queen Elsa who has the power to control ice! At first she didn't know how to control it and caused an eternal winter to the kingdom. Her younger sister, Anna, decided to go after her and try to help stop the winter. Then we met an ice deliverer named Kristoff and his reindeer friend named Sven. Funny enough, we also met a talking snowman named Olaf. He was actually made from Elsa's magic. When we found Elsa, she tried to send Anna away because she was afraid to hurt Anna with her ice magic. However, she accidentally hit Anna in the heart with her magic which caused her to slowly freeze to death. The trolls had said that only an act of true love will thaw a frozen heart. In the end, Anna had sacrificed herself to save Elsa from getting killed by an evil prince and froze. But because of the love for her sister, Anna was able to break the spell that Elsa struck her with. Also because of that, Elsa realized that she would be able to end the winter herself and she did. A few months later, while Audrey was taking her medic exams, a strange thing happened. Magical spirits came towards the kingdom and forced everyone out of it. We all learned it had something to do with the angry spirits of an Enchanted Forest. When we traveled there, a HUGE wall of mist was blocking anyone from entering. Somehow, Elsa was able to open a path through the mist for us. The forest was absolutely beautiful. Strangely enough, there's a tribe of people living in the forest. They're called the Northuldra tribe. They're able to coexist with the spirits that resided in the forest which are air, water, earth, and fire. As it turned out, a few soldiers from Arendelle were also trapped in the forest along with the Northuldra tribe. To make the long story short, Elsa was able to break right the wrong that had happened years before she and Anna were born and became the fifth spirit and Anna became the queen of Arendelle._

_We left Arendelle a week later and found out that Cielo's mother was probably near Rome. After spending the entire day flying over the ocean, we finally arrived in Rome and the city is amazing. I also met Centurion Marius and his adopted daughter, Roana. We really got along when I talked about dragons. We also found Cielo's mother as well and Carlos named her, Soleada. Oh and speaking of dragons, we discovered a Night Fury. However, this one was a female and she was all white with blue eyes. Roana thought it would be more appropriate that she should be called a Light Fury. Personally I think it fits. What's even better is that Roana bonded with the Light Fury and named her Luna! They're getting along pretty great. Me and Roana think that Toothless has a crush on her. Well, I hope they'll become mates later on. So Marius had gotten some teachers to help us sharpen our skills and let's just say that we're all enjoying our lessons even though they might be a little bit difficult. Well that's all I can write to you now. I'll write you another letter soon._

_Love your son,_

_Hiccup_

Valka smiled softly at the letter in her hands. She was glad that her son was okay and that he has friends with him as well. She always knew that her son was able to do anything if he set his mind to it.

"Hiccup's been having quite the adventures." Valka commented with a smile.

"**I'll bet.**" Cloudjumper agreed.

"Says here that they found another Stormcutter." Valka told Cloudjumper.

"**Really? I'm glad that he met another Stormcutter. I thought my kind was almost extinct.**" Cloudjumper stated, interested.

"Well I guess there are more of you out there, Cloudjumper." Valka said.

"**Indeed**." Cloudjumper agreed.

* * *

Meanwhile back on Berk:

All of the villagers were doing their daily activities which included attending the animals, fishing, plowing for cabbages, working, and smithing. They did the same thing every day for the past three years since Hiccup was taken and when the dragon raids had finally stopped. The reason confused them to no end, especially Stoick.

Stoick had stayed in his house since Hiccup was taken. He prayed to the gods every single night, hoping that Hiccup was able to escape from the dragon that took him and was trying to get home. A year had passed and no sign of Hiccup anywhere. Some of the elders believed that Hiccup was dead while the other half believed that he was alive and didn't want to return home. When someone had said that Hiccup probably didn't want to return, Stoick demanded a reason. The reason was simple; no one cared about him. Stoick couldn't really reject that thought. It was true that he wasn't treated very well while living in the village. What reason would he want to return to Berk?

At the moment, the teens of Berk were hanging around in the Kill Ring where they did dragon training. However, all of the dragons had escaped and the cages remained empty since the dragons no longer attacked Berk. With no dragons to kill, they were just lazing about.

"Ya' know, it just feels so weird that we don't have dragon attacks anymore." Fishlegs said.

"It's actually boring around here if you ask me." Tuffnut said, leaning against Ruffnut.

"We _didn't_ ask you." Astrid remarked, sharpening her axe.

"Well, there's no dragons or Hiccup's inventions destroying houses anymore," Ruffnut agreed with Tuffnut, "Which takes out all of the fun."

"So what else _can_ we do now since the dragons have stopped coming here?" Astrid questioned.

"It also feels weird that Hiccup is no longer around either." Fishlegs commented.

"Well, at least we don't have to clean up his messes anymore." Snotlout oiled with his hands behind his head.

"Not to mention, it's quite peaceful and less stressful without him around." Astrid agreed.

"Which is also boring." Ruffnut retorted.

"_So_ boring." Tuffnut added.

* * *

Gobber was in the forge, repairing a sword for one of the customers. Smithing is what kept him busy everyday. During those days, he would always think of Hiccup. He wondered how Hiccup was doing so. He figured that the boy was off on an adventure somewhere outside of the archipelago; exploring, making new friends, and learning new skills. He knew that the boy was more knowledgeable than most of the people on Berk. He knew that he was capable of doing anything he wanted to do. He hoped for the day when he would see Hiccup again.

* * *

_I consider it a good rule for letter-writing to leave unmentioned what the recipient already knows, and instead tell him something new. _~ Sigmund Freud


	49. When In Rome

Chapter 49: When In Rome

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

A few days later, Hiccup was helping Roana and Luna with dragon training. Luna was still trying to get along with the other riders. But Hiccup and Roana had complete faith that Luna will soon accept them as friends. The other riders wanted to help, but since Luna was a Night Fury like Toothless, which she was renamed as a Light Fury, they figured that Hiccup would be better suited to teach her. For Soleada, her wing was healing nicely and would be able to fly in a couple of months. The riders also introduced the dragons to the roman citizens. Many were intrigued by the mythical creatures. Once Soleada was finished healing, Hiccup suggested that she should go to the Dragon Sanctuary. She agreed and followed Sharpshot when he had to deliver another letter to Valka.

As they took refuge in Rome, Marius decided that the dragon riders would need teachers to improve their skills and talents. They were trained by Marius's guards which included swords, archery, and hand to hand combat. One of the guards was impressed with Merida's skill in archery. Hiccup was being taught by the blacksmiths who were helping him improve his smiting skills. Carlos was learning trades from the tradesmen who visited Rome, and Audrey was being taught by one of the physicians. Each of their teachers were impressed by their skills. But Marius would also teach them the history of Rome between their lessons, which interested most of them, surprisingly Merida. Marius would also introduce them to any royal visitors and events that were going on in the colosseum. They mostly enjoyed the plays that they were performing. Some were funny, sad, and heartwarming. Without even knowing it, a year had passed by for our dragon riders. The riders soon decided their next location to explore.

"Library of Alexandria?" Marius asked.

"Yes, we all decided that we want to see it and from what we've heard about it, it sounds amazing." Hiccup replied.

"Indeed it is." Marius agreed, "When do you plan on heading out?"

"The day after tomorrow." Hiccup replied, "We have a lot of things to do before we leave."

"I understand." Marius sighed, "Things are going a little bit different when you all leave."

"I know, we've all had such a great time learning about this city." Hiccup agreed.

"Hiccup, I have a request." Marius said.

"What is it?" Hiccup asked.

"I would like you to take Roana with you." Marius requested.

"What? Why?" Hiccup questioned, confused.

"Roana deserves to see what lies outside of Rome. She did once tell me that she always wanted to go on an adventure." Marius told him.

"Are you really sure about letting her come with us?" Hiccup asked.

"I know that she'll be able to handle herself. Besides, she has Luna and all of her friends." Marius assured him.

"Well then, I'll let her come with us. I think she'll enjoy being in on our adventure." Hiccup accepted his request.

* * *

The day after tomorrow, the dragon riders including Roana and her dragon, Luna, were ready to leave the city of Rome. The riders' teachers were sad to see their students leave, but they knew that they wouldn't stay in Rome forever. So they each gave a gift to their students. Carlos was given two Gladius swords. The four other riders also received a Gladius sword. Merida was given a new set of bows and arrows which she definitely liked. Audrey was given some new medicine along with ingredients and instructions on how to make them. For Hiccup, he received more forge tools from the blacksmiths which he was happy to receive. At the moment, the riders and their dragons stood outside of the gates of Rome, ready to leave on a new adventure.

"I wish you luck on your journey." Marius said.

"Thank you, Marius." Hiccup said.

Marius nodded and went to Roana. He wrapped his arms around Roana's figure and held her close to him.

"I will miss you my child." Marius admitted with tearful eyes.

"I will too, father." Roana said in a cracked tone.

Marius let go of Roana and held her at arm's length. He gently wiped away the tears in the corner of her eyes.

"Make sure to have as many adventures as possible." Marius requested.

"I will, father." Roana promised before giving him one last hug and mounting onto Luna's saddle. Hiccup and the other riders mounted their own.

"Safe travels, dragon riders." Marius said.

The riders nodded and one by one, they all flew up into the sky and headed off to their next location. Marius watched them fly off until he could no longer see them.

* * *

_People don't take trips, trips take people. - _John Steinbeck


	50. Thief vs Prince

Chapter 50: Thief vs. Prince

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

The group plus their new additions, Roana and Luna, were flying across the big blue ocean. They hoped to see a new land soon and explore the wonders it might hold. Hiccup noticed something in the distance. He took out his telescope and focused on the object in the distance. When the focus was clear, he recognized that it was a ship. But he didn't recognize the symbol on the sails it had.

"What is it, Hiccup?" Roana asked.

"A ship. But I don't recognize the flags." Hiccup replied, pointing at the ship in the distance.

Roana took out her telescope to see the ship that Hiccup spotted. Roana knew who the ship belonged to.

"It's Syracuse." Roana said.

"Syracuse?" Merida asked.

"A city full of knowledge, culture, and good wine." Roana told the other riders.

"Sounds interesting." Carlos commented.

"Should we follow them?" Audrey suggested.

"No, if we do that, they might think we're enemies. It might be better if one of us confronted them and explained to them." Roana decided.

"That might work." Hiccup agreed.

"I'll go. I know their customs." Roana volunteered.

"Okay. Good luck." Hiccup said.

Roana and Luna flew ahead to try and talk with the captain of the ship. The others stayed behind as they waited for Roana to return. Soon enough Roana returned and told them to follow her to the ship. They flew towards the ship and gently landed on the top deck. Hiccup was amazed by the armor and clothing. Not to mention the boat as well. All of the riders dismounted and stood by their dragons.

"Everyone, I would like you all to meet Prince Proteus." Roana gestured to the man next to her.

Prince Proteus had long brown hair tied back in a low ponytail and dark gray eyes. He wore blue themed colored clothes with an armored shoulder pad on his right side with a strap around his left side and brown gloves on his hands with a sword strapped to his waist.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, your highness." Hiccup greeted Proteus.

"Likewise, so what's your name?" 'Proteus' asked.

"I'm Hiccup and these are my dragons. The black one is Toothless and the small green one is Sharpshot." Hiccup gestured to his dragons.

"**Hello.**" Toothless and Sharpshot warbled next to Hiccup.

"I'm Carlos and this is Cielo." Carlos greeted, Cielo beside him.

"**Hi**." Cielo warbled.

"Princess Merida of DunBroch and this is Aileana." Merida gestured to herself and her Deadly Nadder.

"**A pleasure to meet you**." Aileana squawked, bowing her head.

"I'm Audrey and this is Quicksilver." Audrey introduced herself and her Razorwhip beside her.

"**Please to meet you**." Quicksilver grunted.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you." Proteus greeted back, "I never thought that dragons existed until I saw all of you."

"We get that alot." Hiccup shrugged.

"From what Roana had told me, you're all traveling together." Proteus commented.

"Yes, we're exploring." Merida agreed.

"Well, you're all welcomed to come to Syracuse for the celebration." Proteus said.

"Celebration?" Carlos asked.

"We finally found the Book of Peace and we're bringing it to Syracuse." Proteus replied.

"The Book of Peace?" Hiccup asked, interested.

"It's a historical treasure that is said to bring peace and harmony to all of the kingdoms." Proteus explained.

"Wow." Roana said, awed.

"Can we see it, please?" Hiccup pleaded.

Proteus pondered as he gazed at the dragon riders who looked very eager to see the treasure. He suppose it won't do any harm if he showed it to them. After all, not many have ever got the chance to see it.

"Alright then, follow me." Proteus gestured to them to follow him.

Proteus led them to the cabin on the top deck and opened the door. He went in first and the riders and the dragons followed after him. When they entered the room, they were curious about the light blue glow around the room. Proteus led them over to a podium where they were able to see an open blue hardcover book laid out on it. When they got closer, they were in awe at the book. They saw a light blue glowing page that had symbols on it. It was like they were floating on the ocean with no depth within it.

"Amazing." Hiccup whispered.

"It's beautiful." Roana smiled.

"I've never seen anything like it." Merida said.

"Fascinating." Carlos commented.

"Wow." Audrey gazed at it.

"Will this book really bring peace and harmony?" Hiccup asked Proteus.

"Yes, my father has always dreamed that this sacred treasure would be found and brought to Syracuse for protection." Proteus replied.

"But what happens if the book is ever closed?" Audrey asked.

"A definitive darkness will take its place and lead the lands to become ripe for chaos and disorder." Proteus told her.

"Somehow that reminds me of when Ruber merged Excalibur with himself." Audrey told the prince.

"Yeah, a dark trail of clouds was following us at the time." Merida added.

"I'm just glad that the guy was vanquished by the sword's magic." Carlos commented.

"A horrible time." Hiccup stated.

"Indeed." Audrey agreed.

"I assume that you've been on a lot of adventures lately." Proteus said.

"Yeah, we've had some pretty amazing ones." Carlos responded.

"If it's not too much, I would like to hear about them." Proteus requested.

"We would love to." Hiccup accepted.

Later that day, the dragon riders were telling Proteus about their adventures before they came across the prince. Let's just say that the prince was very interested in how they all met. He was mostly shocked when they spoke of Olaf the talking snowman. He didn't believe them at first, but they managed to convince him. However, they kept a few things that were secretive in Elena's kingdom like the Noblins. Overall, Proteus and his crew enjoyed listening to the stories of their adventures.

* * *

It was the next morning and the dragon riders were helping Proteus's crew. They were at different parts of the ship while gazing at the horizon while the dragons were flying up in the clouds. They were glad it was a nice and relaxing morning so far. But Hiccup had a strange feeling that it wouldn't last for long. So Hiccup went to the back of the ship and stared at the blue sky. He wondered what Syracuse was like. Every place they had been to so far, have been very interesting.

"**Hiccup, look over there!**" Sharpshot warbled, breaking Hiccup out of his thoughts. He turned his attention to the horizon and spotted a smaller but swift vessel, sporting orange sails just behind them. He quickly turned around and saw Proteus near the helm.

"Proteus, there's a ship coming this way!" Hiccup yelled, pointing at the direction where the ship was coming from. Proteus went over to Hiccup's side and caught sight of the vessel coming towards them.

"Pirates." Proteus said.

"Pirates?" Hiccup asked.

"Yes, I never thought we would encounter them so soon." Proteus replied and turned to his men, "Men, prepare for attack."

Proteus and Hiccup rushed to the deck where the other riders gathered. They looked over to the side of the ship and saw the swift vessel coming towards them. Hiccup spotted metal hooks on the side of the ship. These hooks then latched onto Proteus's ship, which caused the members of the crew and the dragon riders to slightly stumble. The riders soon spotted a man flip in the air while pulling out twin swords and dove into the middle of a mob of soldiers. The man's crew also boards the ship to fight the royal guards. The riders joined in on the fight as they took out their weapons and helped Proteus who was having a little bit of trouble of his own. But soon enough they were able to even the odds.

"Still fight like an old lady." A male voice commented, interrupting them.

"Sinbad?" Proteus asked,turning around.

When he let down his guard, he and the riders were instantly tackled to the ground. 'Sinbad' winced and let out a playful chuckle from his spot on the wall. He pushed himself off of it and advanced toward Proteus. Three men held him down, but let him up when they saw that their captain knew him. Proteus pushed them off and stood up to look at the man. Then the other pirates let the dragon riders go who brushed themselves off once they stood up. Hiccup finally got a look at the man Proteus knew as 'Sinbad'. The man had dark grey eyes, a circle beard, and short brown hair that stuck out from the black and red cap he wore which matched with his red and black themed clothes. He had one sword on his back and waist.

"Sinbad?" Proteus asked in disbelief. "What are you doing here?!" Sinbad pulled out his knife with a flare.

"I'm working." He easily replied. Turning towards the locked door he stabbed the handle with the knife and opened up the door. "You?" he casually asked, glancing back.

"What happened to you?!" Proteus continued. He was more affected by the sudden reconnection. "Where have you been?!" Sinbad scoffed.

"I'd love to stop and catch up but I've got things to do, places to go, things to steal." He told Proteus, avoiding the questions. His crew chuckled and stayed outside while the two friends walked into the room. The dragon riders decided to stay outside as well.

"I admit that you five fight pretty well." A male voice said.

The five riders turned to the large man with dark brown skin, big gold hoop earrings on his ears, wore no shirt, and had long pants and boots.

"Thanks, I guess." Hiccup said.

"Not bad for a bunch of kids." Another thief commented.

"I suppose." Carlos agreed.

Suddenly they heard a very large thump from behind them. They turned around and saw large tentacles coming up from the front of the ship. When the head of the creature appeared, practically everyone was shocked at its appearance. The riders were more slack jawed at this creature.

"The Kraken." Roana whispered.

"The what?" Audrey asked, turning to Roana.

"It's the Kraken. A huge monster that terrorizes the seas. I thought it was just stories." Roana replied.

"Well you thought that dragons were stories, right?" Hiccup retorted.

"Can't argue with that." Roana agreed.

At that moment, the pirates left the ship and went onto theirs while the royal guards went off to fight the creature. The riders heard hurried footsteps behind them and Proteus and Sinbad came up beside them. They too were slack jawed at this sea creature.

"Dear gods…." Proteus mumbled.

The creature raised its head about the water and looked down at the crew, its arms flapping around and taking some of them out. The front of the boat tips forward as the creature continues to attempt to climb aboard the royal ship. The dog, known as Spike, ran toward the beast happily barking. He bit into the end of one of the arms and hung on while it tried to shake him off. Sinbad chuckled at his dog.

"Go Spike." He mused. After a few moments Spike was flung off toward Sinbad's ship, still chewing on the detached piece of tentacle. Sinbad sheathed his sword to his back and turned to a distraught Proteus and worried dragon riders. "Well I see you're busy, so..." He turned to the side and punched Proteus' shoulder. "Stay in touch." He walked to the edge of the railing.

"Wait, Wait! You're just going to run away?!" Proteus chased after him. Sinbad paused while holding onto the rigging. He turned to look at Proteus.

"Uh, yea." He told him, as if it was obvious.

Proteus and the riders dashed off with a scowl. Unexpectedly, a numerous amount of plasma blasts hit the tentacles which turned its attention towards the dragons who flew around the ship.

"**Sorry we're late!**" Toothless roared.

"Actually, perfect timing!" Hiccup shouted before he and the riders went off to fight the Kraken while the dragons were fighting off the other tentacles with their fire blasts.

On the main deck Proteus and the riders were with Proteus's men trying to fend off the monster. Dodging the tentacles they were slashing at it with their swords while Proteus threw spears. He and Merida jumped onto a limb and stabbed it. Behind them another arm knocked them off onto the deck. Proteus landed on his shoulder hard. After a few dazed moments, Proteus slowly started to stand back up. Carlos went over to Hiccup to help him up while Audrey helped Merida. The beast lifted up its head, revealing a mouth underneath. It shot out its tongue and stuck it to the soldier beside the prince, and pulled the screaming man into its mouth. Proteus and the riders reached out in desperation but could do nothing.

"Heads up!" came a shout behind them.

Turning, they saw Sinbad with a torch in his hand. With a smile he lit a barrel of gunpowder and jumped on the end of a plank. This launched the barrel into the air, so the monster could see it and catch it in its mouth. It did just that. Sinbad went over and helped his friend stand up, since he was crouched on the ground in shock. Proteus rubbed his arm, and looked back at the monster.

"Stand by for sushi." Sinbad informed, as they both watched in anticipation. The beast looked agitated and then shot up a little as it exploded inside. Opening its mouth it shot out a heap of slime all over the boat and smoke came out of its nose. This slime shot out over everyone and they held their hands up trying to avoid some of it. Along with the slime came the man that was recently swallowed. He landed not far from the prince and the thief and sat stunned for a moment. Suddenly he bubbled up with rage and gave a battle cry before running back to fight off the creature that swallowed him. Sinbad and Proteus along with the riders' eyes furrowed, watching this.

"Give that guy a raise." Sinbad commented with wide eyes.

Angrier than before, the monster continued to attack. The two heroes ducked under a couple tentacles. Proteus grabbed Sinbad's arm and turned to go.

"Come on, come on!" he tried to rush his friend. But Sinbad had a different plan in mind.

"Wait, stand your ground." He put his fingers in his mouth and let out a chirping of whistles.

"What are you doing?!" Proteus exclaimed.

"Hey! Hey, hey! Lobster boy, over here!" Sinbad shouted, getting the beast's attention. It shot out its tongue again, but Sinbad moved aside. Instead he pinned the tongue to the deck of the boat, with his sword. This slightly immobilized the monster.

"Run!" Sinbad shouted.

"Fall back!" Proteus shouted at his men along with the riders, not quite catching on to Sinbad's plan.

They ran toward one of the two main masts. Looking up Sinbad saw a sharp and broken end of a mast pointing down towards the creature and formed another plan. He grabbed some rope and stopped at the base off the mast. Wrapping the rope around, they each grabbed a side and then grabbed the other's forearm. With a nod they quickly scaled up the mast. Sinbad snatched a dagger in his mouth and mumbled for them to keep climbing.

"And the plan?" Proteus asked once they reached the top.

"How about 'try not to get killed?" Sinbad told him. He quickly cut one of the ropes so the point was even more extremely angled down at the sea monster on the deck. Proteus was hanging onto the part of the rigging that was still attached. Sinbad climbed a bit higher up the mast. "Here, you'll need this." He tossed the dagger to Proteus.

"Where are you going?" He asked looking up at his friend. Sinbad had climbed to the very top of the mast and had one hand on the rope between the tops of the two main masts on the boat.

"Fishing." He happily replied. Swinging himself up like an acrobat he stood up on the thin rope. He began walking across it like a tightrope walker, all the while mumbling a 'left, right, left, right' to help him keep his balance. The pinned attacker on the deck looked up and saw him. Trying to make him fall, it reached one of its tentacles up to knock him off. Sinbad was too quick. He swiftly leapt to the other mast and to the top of the sail mast. Across the way Proteus nervously watched, hoping for the safety of his friend. Once he saw Sinbad safely on the other side he squinted in thought to decipher his next move. Sinbad, with his own dagger, cut one of the riggings and had the other pole pointed the same way as the one Proteus was on. With a smile he clearly saw what the plan was. Sinbad shot him a smug look once he regained his footing and held the dagger up, prepared to slice the rest of the ropes. Proteus did the same.

"Now!" Sinbad called. They both cut the ropes and the sharp poles made their way toward the beast's head. Hanging by the cut ropes they watched as the sea monster was speared to death by the large masts. They let out whoops of glee and the rest of the crew cheered. They gracefully jumped down and landed safely on deck. The monster was sliding off and sinking back into the sea. "You ok?" Sinbad asked, putting his dagger away.

"Yea." Proteus breathed out. He lightly punched Sinbad's shoulder. "Thanks for sticking around" He told him with a genuine smile.

"Ah, just like old times." Sinbad returned the smile and put his hand on his friend's shoulder. Behind Proteus he saw a tentacle sliding up to hit the prince. His eyes widened and he shoved Proteus out of the way. "Look out!" Proteus hit the deck from the force and the tentacle grabbed Sinbad instead.

"Sinbad!" Proteus cried. The tentacle holding his friend went into the water. Proteus immediately went to jump in and save him, but his guards held him back. The riders were about to go after Sinbad, but their dragons stopped them. A few moments later, they spotted Sinbad burst out of the water coughing and sputtering. A ship swiftly came up behind him and he was snatched out of the water and harshly flung onto the deck of the ship. The crew gathered around and saw that he was fine. A big cheer of 'he's alive' rang out around the ship. He walked over to the rail of the ship and looked over at Proteus on the royal ship. Seeing his friend alive and well, Proteus turned back to his own crew with a relieved smile on his face.

"Men all sails to Syracuse." He ordered.

* * *

_Its nice when you meet up with old friends and see how much you've both grown - _


	51. Stolen

Chapter 51: Stolen

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

The royal ship arrived in Syracuse a few days later and the whole city was there cheering and celebrating that the prince had brought home the Book of Peace. There were also all of the ambassadors of the Twelve Cities to celebrate his arrival. The prince stood proud and looked out at his beloved city. He knew that everyone would be curious about the dragon riders once he introduced them. The dragon riders gazed at the city with awe. It was just as beautiful as Rome. The ship anchored near the palace and the guards carefully carried out the book. They took it up to a tower, specifically made for it and once the book was placed on its pedestal it immediately brightened up the skies. The riders and their dragon were amazed by this treasure.

Soon afterwards, Proteus gave them a tour of his beloved city. The riders truly enjoyed exploring the city and the castle where the prince gave them a place to rest as a token of thanks for their help. Later that night the king had a celebratory feast in honor of the return of the book.

"For as long as I could remember, I have dreamed of this moment. The sacred treasure that has protected us for 1,000 years is now in Syracuse." The nobles and the prince along with the dragon riders, who were all dressed in royal robes and garments lifted up their glasses in toast. The king lifted up his goblet. "To the Book of Peace." He toasted. A noble standing beside Prince Proteus added to the toast.

"And to you, King Dymas and Prince Proteus." He and the prince tapped glasses.

At that moment, multiple guards began running to the entrance. The prince immediately set down his goblet and looked after them to see what the problem was. The dragon riders followed after him to see what was at the entrance. At the entrance of the room stood a group of rag-tag pirates. Sinbad's crew. The guards all held up their swords to them, while the crew just smirked. The dragon riders were shocked that Sinbad and his crew were brave enough to come to the celebration of the Book of Peace's arrival. But they had a feeling that he was still after the book.

"You see, this is what happens when you use the front entrance." Sinbad told Kale who stood beside him. Kale hummed in agreement.

"What is he doing here?" King Dymas asked his son, walking toward the group. The prince smiled and clasped his father on the shoulder comfortingly.

"At least he's not out robbing someone." He joked and continued on. The king had stopped and watched his son.

"That's because everyone worth robbing is here!" He said, exasperated, once his son was out of earshot.

The dragon riders couldn't help but softly chuckle at that statement. It was true though. There were many nobles here that are worth robbing. They followed Proteus and Sinbad as they were walking through the crowd. Sinbad snatched up a goblet of wine from someone's hand while following Proteus.

"Here she is, I've told her all about you." Proteus said but Sinbad didn't pay attention. Proteus cleared his throat. "Sinbad I'd like you to meet my fiancé." This caught his attention. Proteus walked up to a beautiful woman with dark brown hair and blackish grey eyes and grabbed her hand gently, bringing her over. "The lady Marina, ambassador to Thrace." He introduced her.

"So this is the infamous Sinbad I heard all about this morning. First you try to rob Proteus, and then you save his life." She wrapped her arms around Proteus' and he lovingly put his hand on hers. Sinbad still didn't say anything and just stared at them. "So which are you? A thief or a hero?" Marina asked him jokingly.

"Sinbad wanted to give me an opportunity to thank…." Proteus started making the women turn their heads toward him, but trailed off when he looked back and saw that Sinbad had disappeared. "…him." he mumbled. The couple looked around startled by his sudden disappearance. But the dragon riders caught sight of Sinbad as he stormed off towards the exit. Then they caught sight of Sinbad's dog eating through the food, literally, on the buffet table which weirded and grossed them out at the same time. They noticed that two of his men were telling Sinbad something, however, he brushed them off and left with the rest of his crew behind him.

"That was strange." Roana commented.

"Strange indeed." Hiccup agreed.

"He looked upset." Audrey observed.

"But what could have made him upset?" Carlos questioned.

"No idea." Merida shrugged.

The spotted Proteus and Marina headed towards the balcony. So the riders decided to leave them be. Hiccup spotted a few people who were dancing in the middle of the room. He turned to Roana and held his hand out to her.

"Would you care to join me in a dance, Roana?" Hiccup asked.

"I would love to." Roana replied, taking Hiccup's hand.

Hiccup gently held Roana's hand and led her to the dance floor. They stood in the middle of the dancing couples. Roana placed her left hand on Hiccup's right shoulder as his right hand went around Roana's waist. Hiccup held her right hand in his left and the two began to waltz. Roana had to admit that Hiccup was a good dancer and teacher. She remembered when she first started out. She may have the grace of a warrior, a dancer was a little bit different. But after a few lessons from Hiccup and the others, she finally got the hang of it. She had to admit that dancing was quite fun. She looked up into Hiccup's green eyes, she couldn't help but awe at them. The wonder, curiosity, intelligence, kindness, and determination all wrapped in an enchanting color. Truth be told, she started gaining feelings, romantic feelings, for Hiccup as he and his friends stayed in Rome. There was something about him that drew him to her.

While Hiccup and Roana danced, they felt like they were the only ones in the world. As Hiccup stared into Roana's amethyst eyes, he felt his heart beat faster. Ever since they first met in Rome, he had this warm feeling towards her. Even though he once had a crush on Astrid when he was younger, that faded away when he got older and finally realized her flaws that he didn't see before. Roana did have the heart of a warrior, but also the heart of a kind and caring friend. Something that always intrigued him. Even though her beauty was a part of her, it was her strength and wits that caught his attention. That warm feeling inside of him was growing bigger and bigger as he held Roana close to him.

Suddenly they heard a rumble which caused the whole room to shake. Hiccup and Roana stopped at that moment. In a matter of seconds, people were frantically running and screaming. The building had begun to shake and the walls were crumbling. Hiccup and Roana quickly went back over to their friends.

"Hiccup! Roana!" Carlos called out.

"There you guys are!" Merida exclaimed.

"Are you okay?" Audrey asked.

"Yeah, we're fine." Hiccup assured her.

"We've gotta get out of here." Roana declared.

The riders agreed but then they saw Proteus who was searching through the crowd until he spotted the riders. He quickly ran over to them.

"Have any of you seen Marina?" Proteus questioned, frantically.

"No, we thought she was with you." Carlos answered.

Then they spotted Marina running towards Proteus.

"Proteus the book!" she shouted. The two of them, along with the riders, ran to the balcony. They stopped when they saw a dark and menacing cloud quickly covering the skies. When it reached them an even larger earthquake came and Proteus shielded Marina as Hiccup shielded Roana while Carlos shielded Audrey and Merida. The cloud rapidly covered the land and those of the twelve cities. Everywhere it covered, there was darkness and ruin. The buildings were cracked and the land was under despair.

* * *

In the council room, Sinbad was standing trial in front of the ambassadors of the Twelve Cities. The dragon riders were also there. They were confused about the theft. When they last saw Sinbad, he looked like he didn't want to steal the book. Not to mention that there was no way that Sinbad could steal the book and arrive back in time to his ship. But they knew that the King and the ambassadors would think otherwise. King Dymas walked around and talked with Sinbad.

"We've heard enough of your lies. Sinbad, for the last time, give us the book." He walked toward the thief who was being held on either side by a guard. Sinbad leaned his head back in exasperation.

"How many times do I have to say it?! I. Don't. Have. It." He slowly said.

"Very well then." The head ambassador stood up from his chair at the center. The rest of the ambassadors followed. "The delegation of the Twelve Cities finds you guilty of treason, and we sentence you to die. Take him away." Sinbad's face dropped in shock.

"Come on this is a joke right?!" he protested. "Are you people blind?! I didn't do it!" he thrashed against the guards.

"Stop!" came a voice from the back of the room. The crowd parted to reveal the prince walking towards the council. "I demand the right of substitution. Take me in his place." He told them.

"No!" King Dymas shouted in distress. The crowd that had gathered frantically murmured at this request. Marina and the riders looked to each other and then at him with a distraught expression.

"Sinbad said that Eris took the book, and I believe him." Sinbad had a smug smile on his face. "Let him go to Tartarus and bring back the book." The smile dropped. He immediately rushed forward and jerked Proteus back with his joined hands.

"What are you doing?!" he harshly whispered.

"You claim that Eris stole the book, steal it back. You're good at that." Proteus winked at him, unaffected by the severity of his actions.

"Hey look I will not be responsible for your life!" Sinbad argued strongly.

"You would do the same for me." Proteus stated.

"No, I wouldn't!" He countered with a jerky nod as emphasis. The two of them stared at each other down.

"If Sinbad leaves the city he will never come back!" Dymas argued with the delegates. He rushed back to his son to change his mind. "Son, listen to reason."

"No father, you listen." He pushed Sinbad aside and stepped forward again. "Sinbad either stole the book, or he's telling the truth and it's in Tartarus. Either way he's our only hope." He told the council. Marina was frantically protesting with the head ambassador.

"Proteus, you do realize that if Sinbad does not return….YOU will be put to death in his place?" The head ambassador asked. It was part of the law so he couldn't do anything about it. Proteus glanced back at Sinbad.

"I understand." he solemnly said. The ambassador heavily sighed.

"So be it. Sinbad has 10 days to return the book." Dymas shook his head in grief. The guards took off Sinbad's shackles and put them on the prince instead. Sinbad looked at Proteus wide-eyed, not believing he would do that for him. Walking past the stand Marina stopped Proteus and looked at him with sad and pleading eyes. Proteus gave her a comforting smile, and turned his head.

"Oh Sinbad?...Don't be late." He lightly reminded his friend. He continued forward towards the dungeons. Marina and the riders sent Sinbad menacing glares.

* * *

_Enter, stranger, but take heed Of what awaits the sin of greed, For those who take, but do not earn, Must pay most dearly in their turn. So if you seek beneath our floors A treasure that was never yours, Thief, you have been warned, beware Of finding more than treasure there._ \- J.K. Rowling

* * *

A/N:

If you want to see what the girls were wearing for the celebration, you can see them on my quotev or wattpad account.


	52. Stowaways

Chapter 52: Stowaways

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

A few hours after Sinbad's trial, the dragon riders decided to follow after Sinbad; to make sure that he'll bring the Book of Peace back to Syracuse. If he refused, they would do whatever it takes to convince him. It was near dawn when the riders had just stepped out of their rooms when Audrey bumped into someone. They looked towards the person and were surprised at who it was: Marina.

"Marina, what are you doing here?" Merida whispered.

"I'm going to make sure that Sinbad gets the Book of Peace. But what are you all doing here?" Marina whispered.

"We want to help." Hiccup replied.

"How?" Marina asked.

"We've helped him before and we would like to help him again." Roana reasoned.

"Are you sure? This might be very dangerous for you all." Marina warned them.

"Don't worry, we've handled situations like this before." Merida assured her.

"We can handle ourselves." Carlos added.

Marina let out a sigh and stared at the riders.

"Alright, follow me." Marina gestured to them to follow her as she quietly ran down the hall with the riders behind her.

* * *

Marina and the riders, except for the dragons who had to stay behind since they wouldn't be able to fit in the ship and had to hide out in the woods until they got back, were able to successfully snuck aboard Sinbad's ship. They were somewhat wondering when Sinbad would finally realize that they were on board. At the moment they were in Sinbad's cabin on the lower deck. They were very intrigued by all of these treasures that Sinbad had.

* * *

At the same time, Sinbad had just announced to his crew that they were going to Fiji. The only crew member who didn't like Sinbad's decision was Kale. Then Sinbad began walking down the stairs he muttered angrily. "Kale…book…uahhh….Proteus…" He opened the door to his room and froze when he saw a group of people in his cabin. It was Proteus's fiance and those dragon riders. With the door closed he shook his head, trying to figure out how they got there. He peaked back in to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. He watched Marina accidentally break off the fingertip of a skeleton. Jerking back again, he made a wide-eyed grimace. Sinbad couldn't believe it. Those kids from before were on board with her. He had to think of a way to get rid of them, quick, or else he'll be stuck with them on the ship. He took in a deep breath and composed himself before walking in with his trademark smirk. The riders spotted him and were able to warn Marina, but Sinbad beat them to it.

"…From Pompeii….And this is from a brothel in Syracuse." Marina muttered holding up a bedazzled bra. Sinbad leaned down to her ear from behind.

"Good guess." She let out a gasp and quickly threw the item aside. "What do you think you're all doing here?" he asked.

"Making sure that you get the book of peace." Roana started.

"Or bring back your dead body if you fail." Marina finished, crossing her arms.

"Really?...and how are you going to pull that off?" Sinbad asked circling them.

"By whatever means necessary." Marina quickly answered she was obviously nervous about being there. He leaned back against a desk and crossed his arms.

"Did you bring a crew?" He asked.

"Kinda of…" she answered trying to remain in control while glancing at the dragon riders.

"You know how to get to Tartarus?"

"Umm…no…" she scrambled for better answers.

"Can you navigate on your own?"

"Yes!" she said triumphantly.

"Well good! Then I'll dump your butts in a rowboat and you can paddle your way back to Syracuse or better yet, you could fly back to Syracuse on those dragons." He told her and the riders. "Cause we're going to Fiji." He plopped down into his hammock and propped his hat over his eyes.

"Fiji?" Marina questioned him.

"Yup." He answered by popping the 'p'.

"Just as I thought…" she slyly told him.

He started to answer but then stopped. Lifting up his hat he looked at her with curious eyes. "What?"

"Sinbad, you're not a very complicated guy. All someone has to do is imagine the most gutless course of action and you're bound to take it." She told him, leaning down.

"Hey, this is not my problem!" he pointed at her. "I did not steal the book." He insisted, crossing his arms.

"You're really not going to lose any sleep over this are you?" she asked.

"Not a wink." He countered and turned over so his back was facing her.

"If it were me I would be tossing and turning knowing I'm alive…..because I let my friend die." She growled at him. He let out an aggravated sound of protest as she walked away.

"I'm not responsible for this mess." He argued, following her as she walked away from him. "And I didn't ask Proteus to put his neck on the line for me!" She abruptly turned back toward him.

"Look clearly I can't appeal to your honor." She sassily stated. She then looked at him alluringly. "But I have other ways of convincing you…."

"Really?..." he asked nervously, looking her up and down. "Uh….just….how do you expect to do that?" he continued, not sure what she had in mind.

"By speaking your language." Marina replied, leaning forward and pulling out a large diamond and held it between them. His eyes widened and he snatched it from her.

"Keep talking." He said, glancing at her. She pulled his hand and held his palm up. Pulling out a bag she dumped the remaining jewels into his hand. She watched him with a smug smile as he tossed them, contemplating his decision. "Yup this will do." He told her. "But not for first class…" he added.

Marina's smile vanished and she looked at him wide eyed. Unexpectedly, he grabbed Marina and tossed her onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He walked out of the room. Hiccup and riders started to follow him until the door was slammed in Hiccup's face. Then he heard Sinbad lock the door on them. Hiccup grabbed the knob and tried to open it. After a few tugs of unsuccessful attempts, he stopped and groaned. He turned to the other riders with a frown.

"Yeah, such _great _accommodations." Hiccup commented, sarcastically, with his arms up.

"Okay, he's the _worst_ thief we've come across." Carlos commented.

"Well, Flynn was the only thief we've come across so far." Hiccup pointed out.

"True." Carlos realized.

"At least Marina was somewhat able to convince Sinbad." Roana assured them.

"Yeah, as long as her money holds out." Carlos pointed out.

"So now what?" Audrey asked.

"Opening the door would be the first thing to do." Hiccup suggested. Then he took out a knife from his sheath that was attached to his belt, "And I know a way." He grinned as he held the blade which made the other riders grin as well.

* * *

_It's often said that there are countries where bribery is a way of life, and that's still the case. _\- Laurence Urgenson


	53. Through The Dragon's Teeth

Chapter 53: Through The Dragon's Teeth

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

They finally managed to open the door. Hiccup and Roana kicked down the door and let out sighs of relief. The riders quickly got on deck and spotted Marina as she got on deck as well. The dragon riders dodged all the activity going on as they went over to Marina.

"Finally got out?" Merida asked.

"Yes, _finally_." Marina replied.

On the deck, Kale was shouting orders to the crew as they made adjustments. Marina and the riders ducked as Rat swung on the ropes above their head. Vlad, a bulker and European looking man, spins his plank around causing the group to duck quickly. His eyes widened in surprise as he noticed their crouched form.

"Oh, pardon me my ladies and lads." He apologized politely.

Marina sighed as she straightened herself up and stared ahead of them. Her face paled as she stared up at the daunting, jagged, rocky cliffs before them. The sky above it was a dreary grey and the opening to it was barely enough room of the ship to fit through.

"The Dragon's Teeth?" Marina whispered worriedly. The dragon riders looked at her in surprise before glancing back at the cavern warily. They heard a noise from above and watched as Rat leapt off the main sail and hung in front of them.

"Indeed Señoritas and Señors. Only the most FOOLISH OF CAPTAINS would dare venture into the teeth." Rat told them, shouting out at his captain bitterly as he did.

"Rat rig the port sail!" Sinbad scolded from across the ship. The man shrugged at Marina sheepishly.

"Excuse me senorita." He told Marina bashfully and whipped out of sight.

Marina pursed her lips thoughtfully and made her way to the back of the ship where Sinbad was holding the wheel with the riders behind her.

"Are you sure-" Merida started.

"Yes we've done this kind of thing before." Sinbad interrupted.

"But-" Carlos began.

"No, there is no other way." Sinbad interrupted again.

"But you-" Marina protested.

"And yes, you have my permission to stand there quietly and get a free lesson in sailing." Sinbad interrupted once more.

"You know-" Marina protested again.

"Besides…a ship is no place for a _woman_." Sinbad told her smugly, ending the conversation.

Marina and the rider's eyes widened at Sinbad.

"He _did not _just say that." Roana growled with narrow eyes.

"He did." Carlos responded.

Marina, Roana, Merida, and Audrey grunted at Sinbad's insult of their femininity. Then Carlos, Merida, and Audrey went back down the stairs onto the deck while Hiccup and Roana stayed at the back of the ship.

"Jin, easy on the main." Sinbad called in warning to his crew member, who shouted back in response.

As the ship approached the foggy entrance to the Dragon's Teeth, everyone was sent into an eerie silence. Although they would never admit it, the haunting atmosphere paired with all the legends of the place frightened all of them and all they could do was look around warily. As they fully entered the only sound that could be heard was the scraping of the main sail against an overhanging rock formation.

"Steady as she goes." Sinbad ordered, his voice echoing along the silent cavern. All the crew members and dragon riders held their positions as their eyes flickered around watchfully.

"Rocks off the starboard bow." Rat warned from his position in the crow's nest.

Sinbad nodded silently and steered the ship away from them. As they continued further into the cave, remains of shattered ships could be seen littering every surface around the water. Hundreds and hundreds of ships that never made it out of this dreaded place. Marina furrowed her brows as a faint eerie singing sound could be heard. However, she brushed it off, thinking it was just the wind blowing through.

"Steady." Sinbad called again, a tint of wariness in his voice.

"Hiccup, something's not right." Roana muttered nervously from beside Hiccup.

The boy glanced back at her and instinctively shifted closer to her form. He had felt a little uneasy too. The ship graveyard was creepy and he couldn't help but wonder how those ships crashed on top of the rocks while the water here was so calm. The riders, Marina, and Sinbad looked up at a mermaid on the bow of the ship as they passed by. However, Hiccup, Roana, and Marina noticed that it was still dripping, like it had just gotten wet. The singing was heard again and Marina walked over to the railing of the deck. She didn't notice the dazed expression that was making its way onto Hiccup and Sinbad's face.

"What is that sound?" Marina asked.

Sinbad lazily shushed her, as he was being drawn in by the music. Roana and Marina's eyes furrowed as they saw something leaping out of the mermaid forms of the boats, into the waters. The girl's eyes widened in alarm as more of the clear women leaped into the water.

"Sinbad." Marina whispered again warningly. As she reached her hand out to get his attention, she was alarmed to see him slumped over the wheel, his head resting causally in his hand while a goofy smile was spread across his face. Spike's barking grabbed the girls' attention and they rushed over to where he was. As they peered into the water below, water women with glowing eyes leapt out of the water gracefully.

"Sirens." Marina gasped.

The sirens circled the ship, enticing the men aboard who were stumbling around to follow after them. The girls peered over the edge again to watch them and the creatures sent them devilish smiles. This explained the wreckages. Marina instantly rushed back over and tried to shake the captain out of his stupor.

"Sinbad?" she yelled at him, but he wasn't budging. As the ship continued sailing on, it hit a rock on the side as they entered the rapids. The force of the hit threw Marina into the man, who was still attached to the wheel. So as they slipped, the ship turned to the side. Another rock forced them back straight and she called out again as she clutched onto his biceps. "Sinbad?!" she shouted at him, waving her hand in front of his face. "Jin…Lee?" Marina called out to the Asian twins before her. They were too busy dancing around in a daze to hear her.

"Come and get it ladies!" another member shouted, revealing his sickly thin torso.

"Kale?" she asked nervously. The man in question leaned against the railing at the end of the ship and ran his hand over his head seductively.

"Come with me and we'll speak of love." He muttered to the water.

"Carlos?" Audrey called out as he danced around and then tripped over his own feet and landed face first onto the deck.

Merida and Audrey watched with wide eyes as Rat blew a kiss to the sirens before slamming face first into the mast. They were all under the creature's spell. Marina then turned to Sinbad in exasperation.

"Who's bad….Sinbad." he muttered lazily, trying to be seductive.

"Uh! Men!" Marina scoffed, gesturing wildly to the dazed fools in front of her. The water turned faster. Audrey and Merida spotted the sirens sitting over on a mass of rocks, practically asking for the ship to be run ashore.

"Marina the rocks!" Merida called out frantically.

Thinking fast Marina yanked Sinbad's legs out from under him, causing the wheel to spin wildly and the boat to lurch to the side. She quickly snatched the spinning wheel, to steady the ship. As she gained control of the ship, the Sirens rose up on a big wave at the end of the boat. The men spotted them and reached for them sluggishly. Once they had their attention, the sirens crashed onto the ship, knocking them all over with a large wave behind them.

"I saw her first." Jin claimed as he was the first to stumble up and chase after the water women. The others soon followed. Marina glanced around frantically as she searched for an idea. Her eyes landed on the three female dragon riders and Spike who was sitting by his master on the ground. She handed the dog and riders two lengths of rope.

"Surround the deck now." She ordered them and the dog took off. Merida and Audrey surrounded the stumbling Carlos and men and tightened the rope, holding them in a pile together. Roana noticed Hiccup was about to go overboard and quickly grabbed him from behind and tied him to the post behind Marina. Marina smiled as she saw that they were safe for now.

"Amore, amore!" Audrey heard Rat calling as he swung down towards the water below.

"Rat?!" Marina screeched in alarm, forgetting that he was always in the ropes above. Rat held onto his rope and leaned down dangerously close to the water siren. "Roana take the wheel!" she ordered and dove for the pile of rope on the other end of the ship. Roana quickly ran over to the helm as Marina sprang into action. Throwing a rope above the mast, she bolted into over to the side as she spotted Rat get taken under. Hanging on to the two ends she leapt off and used her momentum to swing along the water surface, reach down and hook the back of Rat's trousers with the metal hook. As she swung back on the ship, she quickly pulled in order to raise him above the ship, before tying the rope around the mast. As she was finishing up, another siren made her way to land in front of Sinbad, who had just stumbled up.

"Spike, get Sinbad!" Marina shouted as the man was stumbling after the siren towards the edge of the boat. Just as his master was about to jump off, Spike grabbed onto his pants. Sinbad was briefly knocked out of his stupor as he let out a shout of pain while Spike yanked him backwards. Sinbad spun out in another direction where yet another siren was waiting for him. the woman caressed his face, bringing him back into the trance. The ship collided with another downed ship, throwing Marina against the railing harshly. The ship then went straight down a waterfall, causing Marina to fly over the railings and land into Sinbad's arms as she squashed the water siren he had been kissing. To her alarm Sinbad continued kissing the girl in front of him unknowingly. Marina froze in surprise as she processed that her lips were on Sinbad's. Trying not to dwell on it too long she reached up to punch him in the face, knocking him out on the deck.

"Marina!" Audrey shouted in alarm as she spotted a huge rock at the end of the cavern, where the water collided harshly with it. Racing back up to the helm Marina searched for an alternate route. Up ahead she watched a piece of driftwood float up to the rock before the water forced it up to crash with overhanging spikes. If they didn't do something soon, this would be their fate. As she searched around Marina noticed a clear escape…. right behind a large pileup of ships.

"Spike, the blades!" She ordered frantically. Roana let Marina take over the ship as Roana went to hold onto the railing and Merida and Audrey hung onto the railing on the stairs. Spike ran over and released the sharp blades along both sides of the ship while Marina yanked the wheel to the side, steering it towards the pileup. All of the girls smiled in determination as they plowed through the piles of wood easily before running over the sirens at the end. The creatures shouted in fright as they disappeared underneath the ship as it was launched over a makeshift ramp and flew out of the dreaded cavern, landing with a harsh thud onto the calm sea beyond.

The girls breathed a sigh of relief as the ship steadied itself on the water, finally free of whatever they had just encountered. Audrey and Merida went over to the men and untied the ropes around Carlos and the men before making their way up to the upper deck where their friends were as Roana untied Hiccup.

"Ugh, what happened?" Hiccup groaned, placing his right hand on his forehead.

"Sirens." Roana said as she held her hand out to him.

"Sirens?" Hiccup pondered as he grabbed onto her hand and she pulled him to his feet.

"That's how all those ships had crashed." Audrey stated.

"They were lured in by the sirens." Merida added.

"Thank goodness you girls were able to save us." Hiccup thanked the three girls.

"You're welcome, Hiccup." Roana smiled.

Then Carlos came up to them.

"You girls really did save us." Carlos said.

"Sure did." Roana, Merida, and Audrey agreed while Marina just smiled.

Sinbad coughed up the seawater in his lunge and grasped the railing to steady himself. He carefully pulled himself up and peered at the view in front of him, noticing that it was not at all like what he last remembered. Straightening up to see the open sea in front of him he wheeled around to spot Marina at the wheel and the five dragon riders perched atop the railing beside her. Sinbad groaned, knowing that he had to thank her and the other girls. He steeled himself before making his way across the ship as his crew came out of their trance.

"What happened?" one of the men muttered.

"Sinbad saved us." Lee piped up.

"_No_, Marina, Merida, Audrey, and Roana." Rat corrected dreamily.

Sinbad groaned again, rolling his eyes skyward. Just what he needed, his crew fawning over the women that he was trying to deter. The men murmured out agreements as they realized what happened. Sinbad remained silent as he continued up the stairs to the deck with Spike going up the steps ahead of him.

"Aww it's our little hero. You were so brave! Yes, you were." Merida cooed at Spike he pranced his way over next to her and Marina, pleased with the acknowledgement he was getting. Sinbad stuttered a moment, trying to find his words before clearing his throat, alerting the women and the male riders to his presence.

"Still think a ship is no place for a woman?" Marina taunted, shooting him a knowing glance. Sinbad went to agree with her but stopped short, growling in frustration and clenched his fist and glared at her.

"Absolutely!" he shouted. Spike whined and rolled his eyes as the three female riders glared at Sinbad. "I mean, look at my ship! This railing was hand-carved mahogany!" he sputtered, gesturing to the demolished railing beside them. "And here! These moldings came all the way from Damascus!" he added, flailing his arms wildly. "Do you have any idea what I went through to steal these?" He asked her heatedly.

"That's _exactly_ why women shouldn't drive." He pointed out smugly.

"Are you serious!?" Merida and Audrey exasperated.

"We saved your life!" Marina shouted.

"And now you're complaining about things you didn't even pay for?!" Roana shouted back at him.

"I would have been fine. I always am." He countered, brushing Marina aside from the wheel. She went to retaliate but took a breath instead.

"Right…." She muttered bitterly before she and the three girls storming away towards the lower quarters. The crew and the two boy riders watched them attentively, moving aside as the fuming females made their way through and headed down to the deck below.

"And you chipped the paint! Look at it, that's more than a scratch." Sinbad added tauntingly. Marina growled and slammed the doors behind her without another word. Once the doors shut the crew whipped around to stare at their captain pleadingly. Sinbad jerked his head back in surprise.

"Sinbad, if it weren't for the girls, we would have all been killed and this ship would just be another collection of destroyed ones back there." Hiccup reasoned, pointing at where they had just exited out of over his shoulder with his thumb.

"So very true." Carlos agreed with his arms crossed.

He looked back at everyone's expressions and groaned, screwing his eyes shut in annoyance before reluctantly stomping his way down the stairs muttering. "The dog…..and the crew…and those boys…those women." he pouted, physically hating that he had to go apologize to them. Once he reached the doors he pounded harshly, but no sound was heard. He glared back at his crew and the two riders. They all crossed their arms and looked at him pointedly. Sinbad groaned again and they watched in amusement as their captain was so infuriated by a woman. He pounded on the doors again.

"What!" Marina shouted, angrily popping out of the doorway.

"Thank you!" he shouted back in annoyance.

"You're welcome!" she spat back.

"No problem!"

"Don't worry about it!"

"I won't!"

"Good!"

"Goodbye!"

"Goodbye to you!" she spat back at him and slammed the doors shut. Sinbad huffed heavily and turned to face his men and the two male dragon riders giving them a 'are you happy now' look. They all grinned before getting back to work on the ship, satisfied with how that went. He glanced over at his happy dog.

"You happy now?" he asked sarcastically.

Spike yipped as an answer, his tail wagging rapidly. Sinbad rolled his eyes. Without another word, he turned to head back in the opposite direction. Hiccup and Carlos glanced back over their shoulders at him as he was leaving and snickered. Unknown to him, Spike had ripped a hole in his pants to reveal a bare butt. The two boys grinned cheekily at the sight before shaking themselves out of it.

* * *

_I only fear danger where I want to fear it. - _Franz Kafka


	54. Which One Is Right?

Chapter 54: Which One Is Right?

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

The ship had docked beside a strange and tree covered island to restock after their little adventure.

"Alright we're here for 10 minutes. You get lost, you get left." Kale explained to the men. Sindbad pouted as he sulked over a broken piece of his ship.

"Uh….how did four women do so much damage?" he muttered and groaned when another piece fell off in his hand. "Alright, I'm gonna need a full set of chisels, a jackknife, and about a quart of cut wood." Sinbad listed off as he walked up the stairs to stand by Kale.

"Alright men you heard the captain, find some logs and be quick about it." Kale relayed with his booming voice. Marina watched as Sinbad rubbed the side of the ship.

"Oh for goodness sake all you need is a bit of tree sap and she'll be as good as new." Marina pointed out in annoyance while holding a bucket.

"When I want your advice I'll…." He began but paused when he turned to see her along with the female riders walking off the ship. He straightened up in alarm. "Hey, hey! Where do you think, you're going?" he asked her incredulously. She didn't answer. "Well fine at least take someone with you…" he started forward but trailed off as the other men started to crowd around Marina adoringly. He frowned as they were eagerly offering their services.

"How nice to see some men haven't forgotten a little common courtesy." She mused aloud shooting him a backwards glance as she let them drag her off as Roana, Merida, and Audrey quietly snorted as they followed Marina. Hiccup and Carlos chuckled at Sinbad's expression and followed after Marina and the others.

"Common courtesy." Sinbad muttered angrily.

Kale started to head towards the plank, bucket in hand.

"Not so fast." Sinbad stopped him, sulking as he watched them leave.

"But you know she's right. Tree sap will be perfect for…" Kale pointed out.

"Just! Stay with the ship." Sinbad grunted as he hoisted himself up and over the side of the ship. He jogged to catch up with Marina, the riders, and his men who had trekked farther inland on the seemingly tropical island.

"I already said thank you! That's what this is about isn't it?" Sinbad called out as he chased after them.

"It's about repairing the ship. If I break something I fix it." Marina countered easily once he had caught up. "Knife please." She asked, holding out her hand.

"Oh yea like I'd give you a weapon?" Sinbad said sarcastically, crossing his arms over his chest. His smug look dissipated as his men instantly held out their own knives to her.

"Thank you Rat." Marina thanked as she gently took his knife. Rat plopped down on a rock beside his captain who was brooding.

"You know you really ought to be a little more courteous." He chuckled. Sinbad's eye twitched and he punched the man in the face, sending him into the bushes from the force of the blow.

"Oh great now I'm getting etiquette lessons from a bilge rat." He groaned in annoyance.

"Well they did save the ship captain." The older man chimed in.

"Why thank you Luca." Marina told him sweetly before slicing open one of the small trees to gather the sap from it. Roana filled her bucket after Marina. Then Merida and Audrey filled theirs.

"And now they're offering to fix things." Jin added in amazement. Sinbad slapped his hand over his eyes as more of his men sided with the women over him.

"And very handy, I say. And brave." Lin added.

"These girls wouldn't know how to fix a broken fingernail." Sinbad spat out, throwing his hand towards Marina and the three female riders. Marina growled and whipped around to face him.

"Honestly you are the most boorish, pigheaded man I've ever met." She countered.

"Hey, lady I've seen the high-class boys you hang around with. I'm the only man you've ever met." He told her smugly.

Marina gasped, and clenched her fist as her frustration mounted. Sinbad began to turn away but paused when a bucket was thrown at his head, covering it in slimy sap. The crew groaned as they watched the fight begin. Hiccup and Carlos were partly surprised that Marina threw the bucket of sap at Sinbad. But the three female riders believed that he rightfully deserved it. Sinbad slowly turned to face Marina, lifting a brow challengingly. Marina merely shrugged, as if to say 'what are you going to do about it?' With a small grin he leaned down to scoop up a large wad of mud.

"Oh no….no…no!" she warned, knowing what he was about to do. Marina was thrown off balance by the ball being chucked at her face.

"5 on Marina." Lee bet with his brother. Marina slowly stood back up with a glare and wiped the mud off her face.

"You…egotistical.."

"You..spoiled.."

"Disrespectful, portentous.." she threw a crab at him, which Sinbad ducked.

"Deluded."

"Hapless, self-centered…"

"High and mighty…" he frowned as a rock made contact with his forehead.

"Untrustworthy, ungrateful, impossible.." she rattle off furiously as she began throwing anything she could get her hands on while Sinbad darted out of the way.

"At least I'm not repressed." He fired off, sliding up into her face. Marina's eyes narrowed.

"Repressed?! I'll show you repressed." She fumed and leaned down to pick up a large rock plate. With a growl she began to swing it at him but paused when the ground began to tremble underneath them. They all froze as they watched all the plant life on the island shrink down into the ground, leaving it barren.

"What the...?" Sinbad mused in confusion. A large swinging tree brought around a bright light, they thought to be the sun, towards them. "Put it back." Sinbad whispered out the side of his mouth as it drew towards them.

Marina chuckled nervously as she dropped the rock. Suddenly the group beneath them broke apart and they shouted in alarm as it opened to reveal a giant eyeball. They were split apart and standing on the eyelids of the creature. They all screamed as they tried to maintain their balance. Rat was not fortunate and landed onto the white surface. He grimaced as he lifted up his hands, looking at the stringy goo that was attached to his body now. Spike jumped in and started lapping it up, making them all groan. Suddenly the eye moved to look right up at them. Marina, Luca, Carlos, Audrey, and Rat all shrieked in terror. The eye then moved to look down. Sinbad, Hiccup, Roana, Merida, and the twins who were latched onto one another, shrieked. The monster growled as it raised up to show the body of a large angler type fish.

"Run!" Sinbad shouted and the group instantly took off towards the ship. They leaped over the 'rocky' terrain as they sprinted towards the boat. "Kale! Kale!" Sinbad shouted, getting the man's attention. Kale frowned in confusion as he watched them sprinting, with a large light behind them. He was brought back to the present when the boat lurched sideways, knocking him onto the ground. He looked up to see a large fin that slapped back down into the water, pushing the ship even farther away. Hearing the sound of waves Sinbad looked back to see that the fish was beginning to dive down, meaning the water was rising up behind them. As they continued their escape Sinbad spotted a large canyon before them. "Jump." He shouted as he and Marina did that. Mid jump Marina lost her balance and crashed into Sinbad's leg, sending them flailing to the other side. Once they stopped tumbling Sinbad leapt up to check her over. The moment was soon gone as the rest of the crew and dragon riders crashed into them. Sinbad grabbed Marina to take the brunt of the force as they went toppling down the side of the fin. Sinbad shoved Rat off of him and shouted for his first mate desperately once more.

"I got it." Kale assured as he steered the ship close enough to catch the crew and riders as they were sliding quickly towards him. The crew and riders flew into the air, catching ropes as they crashed towards the ship. Hiccup and Roana along Sinbad and Marina grabbed a stray rope and maneuvered themselves to swing back around; landing safely on the boat behind Kale.

"Veer off Kale." Sinbad instructed.

"Wait, the star!" Marina pointed as the fish was moving towards the marker as its 'sun' disappeared.

"Hold your heading." Sinbad told Kale and rushed forward to grab a grappling hook. He snatched it up and tossed one end towards Rat. "Rat tie this off!" Sinbad ordered, not waiting for his answer as he raced to the front of the ship. As he leapt onto the edge of the boat and threw the hook as far as he could and watched it latch onto a piece of the fin. He turned and held his arms out proudly towards the rest of the crew. The riders simply shook their heads while grinning. Then the line tightened under his feet and he was thrown onto the deck hard. Marina laughed out loud along with the riders as they all held onto something. Sinbad shook off the fuzziness in his head from the fall and smiled up at her. The ship bounced violently as it rode the waves behind the monster, heading straight for the star. Sinbad shouted in glee as he righted himself, and held on to a rigging at the side of the boat. He whooped and laughed loudly as he soaked up the thrill of the ride.

* * *

As night turned back into day, the boat was still tossing and swishing around aggressively as it followed the fish. Sinbad latched onto the railing and barely kept his stomach as the tossing of the boat started to get to him. No more laughter and fun from anyone on the boat as the seasickness was beginning to take its place.

"Sinbad! The men can't take much more." Kale shouted from his spot, gripping the mast.

"I can't….mm….take much more either. Cut the line." He ordered, taking a deep breath to steel his tossing stomach. The men cut the line connecting them to the monster, and it immediately set them to smoother sailing. The waves around them stilled as they veered off towards what seemed to be an abandoned stone fortress in the middle of the ocean. All of the men groaned pitifully as they leaned over the side of the boat, taking in easy breaths to soothe their rolling stomachs. Sinbad groaned, from the deck above them, not much better off. He eventually found his legs again and stumbled over to sit on a bench, rubbing his head.

"Who's idea was that again." He mused jokingly.

"I don't know, but she owes me lunch." Marina quipped with a grin as she plopped down next to him. The two shared a laugh as the riders sat down near them.

"We are _never _doing that _again_." Hiccup promised.

"Agreed." Roana agreed.

"I agree as well." Audrey added and noticed the state of everyone, "And I believe that's my cue to help everyone." Audrey stood up and went down the stairs to get her medicine in the lower deck.

"I'll give you a hand." Carlos volunteered, raising his hand as he followed Audrey.

The remaining three riders, Sinbad, and Marina looked over at the structure before them.

"Granite Gates, bet you never thought I'd get us this far." He teased proudly as he and Marina stood up.

"No I didn't. but Proteus did." Mariana commented watching him thoughtfully.

"For some reason, he trusts you." Merida pointed out. Sinbad chuckled sheepishly and turned to look out over the water, Marina stepping to stand next to him.

"Well, what could he have been thinking." He muttered, avoiding her gaze.

"How did you ever meet?" she questioned. Sinbad glanced at Marina a moment before smiling at the memory.

"Running for my life as usual…" he began and hopped up onto the railing of the deck above dramatically. He snatched a knife from a tangle of rope and held it up heroically all the while he kept a hold it in his hands. "…a couple of thugs had cornered me outside the palace walls. I was trapped..'' he continued with a deep voice, letting go of the rope and letting the sail flutter down. "…a sword at my throat, at my chest, at my…."

"Pickles and eggs!" one of the crew shouted, popping up from below and effectively distracting the five from conversation. Audrey and Carlos came up behind the crew man and began to help cure the rest of the crew who were trying to recover from their seasickness. Sinbad frowned and glanced down at where he had been holding his knife in between his legs. He cleared his throat and quickly tossed it away before Marina and the three riders could notice.

"…well you get the idea." he dismissed and plopped down on the railing. "…and then suddenly there was a fourth blade. It was Proteus. You see he'd watched it all from his room at the palace. He actually climbed down the castle wall to fight at my side. And boy did we fight! It was like we had rehearsed it." Sinbad grinned wistfully as he thought back to the day. Then his smile faded. "We were best friends from that day forward." He finished.

"What happened between you all?" Marina continued, not picking up on his expression. Sinbad's face dropped even more and he looked at her, hopping off the banister.

"What is it?" Roana frowned, not understanding his reluctance to continue.

"We….took different paths." He decided on and walked away solemnly. Marina and the three riders watched him go, their brows furrowing at his wording.

* * *

_Things end. But memories last forever. - _


	55. An Icy Rescue

Chapter 55: An Icy Rescue

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

Suddenly everything around Sinbad's crew, Marina, and the dragon riders instantly froze over, dropping the temperature and getting their ship stuck in the ice. Even Spike's saliva had turned into icicles from the sudden burst of cold.

"For crying out loud, what next?" Sinbad groaned. He turned and jumped back when he nearly collided with Kale's chest. "Oh, get a shirt on before you poke someone's eye out!" he muttered jokingly, sliding around the large man. Kale rolled his eyes. Sinbad walked over to the rail to look out over the ship. "Okay, guys, get down there and break it up! We have to keep moving!" He ordered.

* * *

Soon enough everyone was dressed in winter clothes to protect them from the cold. The crew used pickaxes, spears, and hooks to try and break up the ice around the ship, hoping to loosen it up enough to sail through. The dragon riders stayed on the ship, helping Sinbad. Suddenly, Spike barked warningly, sensing something amiss. Sinbad and the riders paused as they heard the bark and started scanning the area around them. The rest of the crew paused their work. Marina and Roana, who were currently on the other end of the ship, pulled off their hoods and stared out curiously towards the horizon. Spike rushed up next to the two and continued barking. A white wisp flew from one peak to the other in the distance. Marina and Roana frowned and tried to peer closer at the creature that had silently appeared. The crew instantly took a defensive stance and Sinbad's eyes widened, getting a better view of what it was. Spike barked once more before whimpering and running off to hide, instantly putting the others on edge. Everyone stood stock still, waiting in eerie silence. A loud screech caused them to jump as a giant ice bird falcon out through the rock ruins over their area. The crew and riders ducked as the bird swooped over the ship slowly, scanning each and every one of them as it passed.

"Everyone back on the ship!" Sinbad shouted, shooting back up and watching the bird swing around for another run at them. All the men shouted encouragement to move faster and run as they darted for safety. However, one had been out farther than the rest. Marina and Roana watched in horror as the bird bared its talons at him and swept in for the kill. She watched as he quickly leapt into a pool of ice water to avoid it but putting himself in another dangerous situation at the same time. The bird screeched before heading out to swoop back around.

"Jed!" Marina and Roana shouted in worry as they waited for him to surface. The man sputtered as he scrambled to pull himself up onto the small piece of ice that was floating nearby. Roana quickly reached over to grab a spare piece of rope and tossed it out. "Grab the rope!" she ordered and Marina began tying it off.

Hiccup and the other three riders were busy helping others onto the ship when Hiccup and Sinbad noticed the bird whipping its head around and spotting someone. Looking over they followed its line of sight to Marina and Roana who were busy helping Jed.

"Mariana!/Roana!" Sinbad and Hiccup shouted, darting after them.

The two looked over at them instantly before looking behind. The bird swooped in and snagged Marina and Roana. Sinbad and Hiccup's eyes widened in fear and raced into action and leapt up and grabbed Marina and Roana's hands, holding on with a vice grip as the two were dragged across the boat. They were forced to let go when they slammed into the railing. All they could do was watch with wide eyes as Marina and Roana frantically struggled to free themselves from the creature's grip as they climbed higher and higher towards an icy peak.

"Hiccup!" Roana shouted. They could hear the shout getting softer and softer as they both disappeared out of sight.

* * *

The bird flew Marina and Roana up to the top of the snow-covered tower and roughly dropped the two. They grunted at the impact and went skidding across the surface. They quickly recovered as the bird thumped down behind her. Their eyes widened in alarm as it set its beady sights on them. Quickly scrambling up they darted for some type of cover but the bird was faster and pinned the girls underneath its talons. They both struggled to get their coats out from under the talons but to no avail. Thinking quickly, they shimmied out of her coat and slipped through the space between the talons, ignoring the nip of the cold. They quickly skirted out of view as the bird leaned down to swallow the now empty coat. Realizing that the two were not inside its talons, the bird spat out the cloth and began searching and scraping the ground for them. Darting off to the side while the creature was distracted, Marina and Roana spotted a small ice tunnel and dove into it without second thought. They looked out one of the holes to watch the movements of the bird before pressing themselves further against the walls. They leaned their heads back in frustration; now to find a way out.

* * *

Down on the ship, Sinbad and Hiccup were lacing daggers to the bottom of their boots, making makeshift climbing gear so they could go after Marina and Roana.

"Rat, don't let the blocks freeze." He ordered once he had finished. "And Kale….give me a hug?" he asked innocently. Kale choked in confusion and started backing up.

"Excuse me?" he stuttered in bewilderment as his captain wrapped his arms around the big man. However, his true intent was revealed when Sinbad stepped back, holding up the twin daggers Kale kept on the back of his belt. The man rolled his eyes at Sinbad's smug expression. Without another word Sinbad and Hiccup popped up a round sled and darted to the front of the ship, strapping them to their backs. Sinbad kicked a small lever, which lifted up a harpoon that they kept hidden there and pulled the device sideways to aim the hooks at the top of the cliff that Marina and Roana had disappeared off to. Sinbad and Hiccup shook their heads, tying off the ropes around his waist. With a sharp whistle, Sinbad signaled for Spike to join them. The dog happily bounded over and pulled down on the bone lever that released the harpoon. Sinbad and Hiccup followed the length of rope as it ran after the spear. Just as the last of it was about to yank them upwards, they leapt off the front of the boat, giving them a little more momentum. Flying through the air, they watched as the original spear made its mark in the cliff. As they came closer they whipped out their daggers and used them to dig into the side, along with the ones on their boots. Sinbad and Hiccup groaned miserably as their bodies collided with the solid rock under a small layer of snow. Sinbad growled as he and Hiccup shook off the snow covering their faces. With determination, they began the slow climb up the side of the cliff, digging their daggers into the wall to pull themselves upward.

"Marina and Roana didn't see the bird? Everyone _else_ saw it." Sinbad muttered sourly, "It's as big as a freaking ship." he added with a growl. "But _no_, they were busy looking the _other_ way." he added, muttering to himself as he climbed.

"Less complaining, more climbing." Hiccup ordered, climbing a little ahead of him.

Sinbad groaned and continued climbing.

* * *

At the top, the bird was still furiously searching the snow and rocks for Marina and Roana who were still hiding in the tunnel tentatively peeking around the side to get a better idea of where the bird was. They let out a muffled yelp as a gloved hand covered their mouths and pulled her backwards. As a reflex, Roana swung at the person, earning a muffled yelp. Turning to see who she struck her eyes widened to spot Hiccup who was now holding his nose in pain.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, Hiccup." Roana apologized.

"It's okay. Reflexes, right?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah." Roana smiled sheepishly.

"You're rescuing us!" Marina smiled with relief.

"Yes, if that's what you want to call it." Sinbad shrugged with his arms out and then held one finger up, "But this is gonna cost you another diamond, rescues aren't part of the tourist package." He told her in mock seriousness.

Hearing large thumps coming towards them, the four quickly moved to the other side of the tunnel, preventing the creature from crushing them. They both pressed themselves against the wall as the bird made its way past where they had been sitting.

"So, how are we getting down?" Marina questioned. Sinbad and Hiccup froze momentarily. They had been in such a hurry to get to them that they didn't even think of a plan.

"I…I don't know…." Sinbad trailed off.

"What?!" Marina whispered.

"I don't know _yet_." He quickly amended.

"Sinbad." Hiccup groaned, face palmed.

"I'm thinking about it, all right." Sinbad assured, defensively.

"You scaled a 1,000 foot tower of ice and you don't know how to get _down_?" Roana asked incredulously.

"Of all the ungrateful…" Sinbad groaned at the two, "Look, if you two want to take a chance on your own, that can be arranged." He growled at them in annoyance.

"Wait, shut up for a minute." Roana shushed him and they both ducked out of sight as the bird stalked by them once again.

"Ok, think. What do we have to work with?" Marina asked him calmly.

"Ropes?" She asked hopefully. Sinbad rose his brows with a grin.

"…no." He answered sheepishly.

"Grabbing hooks?"

"Yea…no."

"Your swords?" She asked pitifully. Sinbad grinned in embarrassment. But he began to think and then his eyes widened.

"Hey, I've got this." He pulled out a large dagger that he had stashed in the back of his belt.

"Oh, great. He can pick his teeth when he's done with us." Marina deadpanned while pointing at her teeth while rubbing her hands on her arms.

"Okay. See, in the hands of an expert, a good knife has 1,001 uses." Sinbad boasted proudly, showing off her by spinning it elaborately in his hands. However, one of the flips was too hard and it got caught in the top of the tunnel. Almost instantly the tunnel cracked before falling apart all at once, exposing them out in the open. The bird lifted its head up at the noise. Marina and the two dragon riders turned and glared hard at the man beside them. Sinbad chuckled nervously, his pitch getting higher in embarrassment. The bird turned and screeched at them threateningly.

"Run!" Sinbad ordered, latching onto Marina's hand and Hiccup latching onto Roana's. The two dragging them off after them with talons stomping right behind them as they sprint. "Come on, faster!"

"W-Wait, wait. What?!" Marina shouted as they neared the edge of the tower.

"Let's go!" Sinbad shouted at her, pulling her off and down the side of the cliff with Hiccup and Roana. Marina shrieked as they both free-fell down towards the ground. In midair Sinbad fumbled to grab her but as he finally did, he shifted so that he would land first. Hiccup doing the same thing with Roana. With Marina on Sinbad's lap and Roana on Hiccup's, they landed on the sled that was strapped to their backs, sending the two duos sliding down the mountainside. At the first bump the sled was dislodged but Sinbad managed to snag it and set it underneath him in a more comfortable position. Hiccup was easily able to maneuver his sled. The four grunted as they barreled down the hillside, bumping into small rocks as they did.

"I think we lost him." Sinbad shouted over the rushing air as they spun in circles.

"I don't think so!" Roana warned as she spotted the bird in their path.

"Head down." Sinbad ordered, pulling Marina to his chest. Sinbad whipped the sled out from under them and used it as a shield from the beak while letting momentum slide his body down the hill even more while Hiccup went around the bird's beak and followed after Sinbad and Marina. Once past the bird, Marina awkwardly sat up, straddling his lap as they continued on. Sinbad shrieked in alarm as the snow made its way through his clothing as he was being the human sled. Soon enough, the rock pillars began to crumble around them. Sinbad managed to get the sled back under him as he and Hiccup tried to maneuver through the falling rocks, narrowly missing them. Once they had passed their main problems they turned to grin at one another, the rush of adrenaline starting to kick in. However up ahead a large chunk of rock landed in their path.

"Oh no!" they both shouted in alarm. Hitting the rock, they shot into the air just managing to fly over the bird as they did. Coming back down hard on the sled they both grunted and tried to reorient themselves. Hiccup's eyes widened as the bird planted itself right in their path, waiting for them. Sinbad quickly scanned the area and spotted a small cavern off to the side.

"Lean right." He instructed, yanking Marina's shirt in the right direction with Hiccup and Roana following behind. As they banked hard, he maneuvered up onto his feet, pulling her up along with him. In getting the new angle, she latched onto his hand and leaned all the way over, nearly touching the ground. As they closed in on the entrance he yanked her back up against his chest. Roana grunted at the impact against Hiccup's chest and was glad the cold could cover up the red in her cheeks. The four skated inside and managed to pull themselves to a stop at the edge of a sheer drop. Letting out a sigh of relief the four chuckled shakily, starting to come off the adrenaline high. Marina and Roana smiled over at Sinbad and Hiccup who was grinning widely. The moment was broken as a loud screech and shadow closed in on the entrance behind them.

"Come on!" Hiccup yelled as he yanked forward, sending the two duo down the side of the cliff as the bird burst through the ice wall. Sliding down the drop another gorge appeared ahead and the duos narrowed their eyes in concentration. As one unit, they lifted themselves upwards, Sinbad and Hiccup grabbing their sleds and stuck the landing on the other side, continuing at their staggering pace through the ice cavern. They weaved in and out of ice pillars while the bird powered on behind them using its wings to propel forward since there was no room to fly. Sinbad and Hiccup frantically glanced around for a way out. Spotting a bit of light to their right side, the boys grinned, a plan formulating in their minds. Whipping the knife from their belts, Sinbad tightened his hold on Marina as Hiccup tightened his hold on Roana.

"Hang on!" Sinbad warned before the two dug their knives into the ground and using their strength, whipped them around to shoot off at a sharp angle towards the exit. As they shot off, Hiccup slipped but Roana caught him and held him in a vice grip as they rocketed towards the hole. She grit her teeth as she continued to hold his weight while keeping him out of reach from the bird barreling behind him. Just before they reached the end, the weight of all the crumbling rocks buried the creature, and began an implosion of the cave. The four let out shrieks as they free fell down towards the boat beneath them.

"Yup there they are." Kale hummed casually, slipping his cap back on as he spotted the four bodies falling down towards the ship. Money began to change hands as people cashed in on the bets they had made. Sinbad and Hiccup yelped as the four of them smacked into one of the large orange sails, tearing it and using the material to break their fall. Sinbad used his arms to pull himself up as he fixed his hat while Hiccup pushed his hands on the ground and froze when he and Roana were face to face with each other.

"There….just as we….planned." Sinbad trailed off, staring at Marina. Neither acknowledged the fact that he was on top of her as she gave a small chuckle which made Sinbad smile. Hiccup and Roana weren't even paying attention to Sinbad and Marina as Hiccup stared deeply into Roana's deep amethyst eyes. As if by some unseen force, the two of them gravitated closer. Just as Hiccup's nose brushed against hers the sail was ripped off, momentarily blinding them with light.

"It's Marina and Roana!" The crew and three dragon riders cheered as they spotted the girls under their Captain and Hiccup. Sinbad quickly scrambled off of her and allowed his crewmates to yank the girl up, doting on her. Carlos helped Hiccup to his feet while Merida and Audrey helped Roana.

"We thought you were gone forever!" Rat bawled as he latched onto Marina's waist. Marina grinned in amusement and patted the man's back lightly which made everyone smile in relief.

"Good to have you back." Merida grinned at the two.

"Oh, I'm fine, really. But I'm _touched_ by your concern." Sinbad dramatically informed them, wincing as he tried to crack his back. Just as he straightened it with a pop a larger crackling noise caught his attention. Peeking open one eye he glanced back to watch the tower above crumble and make its way towards the waters before them. Sinbad watched in bafflement as the rocks instantly broke through the ice, leaving a crack so wide that the boat was released and a path was made for them to move back to open water. Everyone stared at it for a moment before bursting into elated shouts of celebration. Sinbad turned and caught Marina celebrating along with the rest of the crew. He chuckled as Hiccup swung Roana around playfully. Marina glanced around and locked eyes with Sinbad, both shared a soft smile.

* * *

_I feel the need to endanger myself every so often. _\- Tim Daly


	56. The Edge of the World

Chapter 56: The Edge of the World

A/N:

'**Dragons' - **Dragonese

* * *

The dragon riders and Sinbad's crew were playing cards, telling jokes and funny stories, relaxing from the winter attack of that giant bird. Suddenly they heard whooshing sounds and had seen a light. Kale was the first to appear, brushing aside the trapdoor easily as he climbed up onto the deck with the rest of the crew and the riders quickly following after. As they spread out they blinked and covered their eyes, trying to see despite the brightness of the glow. They were shocked at what they saw ahead of them. Sinbad and Marina glanced down the side of the boat and frowned as they spotted the wind pulling the spray of the water in the opposite direction. Everyone on deck was confused by this.

"Rat, give me a lookout." He called, knowing something was amiss. Rat nodded and quickly scurried up the mast of the boat to his perch. The man's eyes widened when he spotted the edge of the waters with the gates of Tartarus floating just past it.

"We're dead." he said to himself, staring as the water created a thin curtain ahead of them.

"Rat, what is it?" Sinbad called, briefly spotting the man's stance.

"I-I-It just ends captain! It's the edge of the world!" he shouted back in alarm.

"Pay up, it's flat." Lee commented, earning himself some coins while the other crewmates and dragon riders stared at it worriedly.

"It's not flat!" Hiccup denied.

"Well that's it. Time to go home." Luca shrugged, turning to eagerly get off the death trap. Kale grabbed his shoulder before he could walk away.

"No, the captain hasn't given his orders yet." he calmly remained, before turning his eyes up to his friend. The man rolled his eyes but looked to Sinbad curiously. Their captain frowned and glanced around in thought.

"Follow that star beyond the horizon….beyond the horizon.." he mumbled under his breath. Suddenly the movement of the water caught his eye. Looking at the horizon he noticed how turbulent and strong they were. As his mind reeled with solutions he glanced up to spot smaller flags on his masts fluttering rapidly as the wind continued to pick up around them.

"Sinbad?" Marina questioned, looking at his face that was slowly breaking into a smirk.

"Men! Abandon posts, free all the sheets and wait for my command!" Sinbad ordered, startling Marina as he leapt down the deck below. All the men and dragon riders stared at him as if he had spoken gibberish. "Go, go go!" he prodded, spurring them into action. They had no idea what he was thinking but went with it anyway.

"Sinbad how are we going to pull this off?" Kale asked him nervously.

"Just trust me." Sinbad assured, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Rat, rig the main yards to the port sail." He called.

"But that would stop us dead?!" Rat told him as a reminder.

"Just do it!" Sinbad told him.

Rat gave him a reluctant 'aye aye captain' and started rerigging the ropes attached to the main sails. Sinbad began calling out orders to anyone who would listen, continuously hurrying them as everyone raced around, tying off the sails to new places around the ship.

"Attach that to the stern!" he called, swooping past a crewmate.

"But that's.."

"Crazy I know, now hurry." Sinbad dismissed, rushing around to see everything in place. He continued barking orders as he watched the edge draw nearer. However, Sinbad paused when a very feminine, 'aye aye captain' responded. Sinbad turned in surprise to find Marina taking up one of the ropes, holding it in place. Sinbad grinned back at her before returning to his barking.

"Pull!" he ordered, yanking on the rope along with a few others, hoisting the main sails on opposing sides of the mast. "Tie up all sails! All hands to midship!" Sinbad barked once more, making his way to the stern. Marina followed closely behind, staring out towards the nearing edge.

"And pray to the gods, we may be meeting them soon." He added softly under his breath. Sinbad glanced back at Marina who shared a solemn stare with him, both grabbing onto the rigging for balance. Everyone held their positions, muscles poised to act at the command of their captain. They held fast as the ship slowly lurched forward, tilting as the water disappeared from underneath it. Once it hit mid-ship everyone started to panic. However, Sinbad remained in his spot and tugged Marina to his chest for good measure as they jerked forward hard. She clutched his shirt tightly as they began to free-fall.

"Come on come on!" Sinbad murmured in alarm, staring up at the sails. He was so sure it would work, it had to work. As if they were listening, the sails suddenly unfurled and spread out to the side, catching the ship at a hover. The force knocked the crew and riders off their feet and the riggings groaned in protest at being pulled in unnatural directions. Sinbad slowly dragged himself up and stared around in shock. They were floating on the wind and unharmed. Slowly the crew and riders followed and gasped as they floated in midair between the ocean and the gates.

"It worked?" Sinbad asked in shock, not believing that it actually did.

"It worked." Hiccup assured with a wide grin. He helped Roana up, tugging her into an embrace as they laughed in shock.

"Sinbad, you did it." Kale mused proudly with a chuckle.

The moment was short-lived as the ship jolted when one of the riggings broke, men scrambling to compensate for it. Sinbad glanced over at the gates, knowing what he had to do. The ropes weren't made to last in this position. They couldn't stay here.

"Turn it hard to port." Sinbad called, making his way towards the men. The boat was turned so the side was facing the glowing gates. "Kale!"

"Aye?"

"If I don't make it, the ship is yours." Sinbad told him, picking up a length of rope. At his blunt words Kale's easy smile dropped. Everyone seemed to get the gist of the situation and gathered around their beloved captain, staring at the man with a mix of awe and sorrow. The riders were also amazed at this. They couldn't believe that Sinbad was going into the gates of Tartarus.

"Men, it's been a privilege robbing with you." Sinbad announced looking over all of them and the riders. With a nod he turned only to jump back at a very determined Marina staring at him.

"I'm coming with you." She announced, leaving no room for argument. "And don't tell me the Realm of Chaos is no place for a woman." she smirked at him.

Sinbad pursed his lips and nodded thoughtfully before tossing a double hooped lasso around the two of them. He quickly tightened it, dragging her up against him.

"I would never say that." He confirmed with a tease, staring at her unashamedly. Marina smiled at the man. A bark caught interrupted them and they all glanced down to see Spike happily tossing a piece of rope over himself, wanting to tag along with his master. Sinbad sighed and took the rope off, rubbing the dog's head fondly.

"Hey, sorry boy. Not this time." He soothed. Spike whimpered but didn't protest.

Marina and Sinbad grasped hands and took a deep breath, looking over at the gates. Glancing at the other side of the boat they shared a knowing grin. Sinbad held up their hands and squeezed before leading her in a sprint towards the opposing side of the ship. They leaped off the railing, Marina yelping as they dropped before the rope caught and roughly swung them into the light of the gates, disappearing with a crackle of electricity. The crew and riders watched with disbelief when Sinbad and Marina went into the gates.

"What do we do now?" Roana asked.

"Pray and hope that they'll come back." Hiccup replied.

* * *

It felt like hours as Sinbad's crew and the riders waited for Sinbad and Marina to return. Kale was at the helm with Hiccup at the rail with his telescope out, trying to find the two.

"Any luck?" Roana asked, standing next to Hiccup.

"No...Wait, hold on." Hiccup spotted two figures on a small island not too far from them and turned to Kale, "Kale, small island starboard side." Hiccup pointed to where the island was.

"On it." Kale obeyed.

The ship soon arrived at the island and the crew helped their captain and Marina on board. The two look almost defeated and distraught at the same time. Everyone was staring at the two with worry. Then Sinbad had a determined expression on his face.

"We have to go back to Syracuse." Sinbad announced.

"What? Why?" Carlos asked, confused along with everyone else.

"But we don't have the book, Sinbad." Hiccup pointed out.

"I know." Sinbad responded.

"Then why?" Hiccup questioned.

"Eris didn't want me to be executed." Sinbad answered.

"What do you mean?" Roana asked.

"She was after Proteus." Marina stated, "She knew that Proteus would take Sinbad's place."

"So she knew that if Proteus dies, then there will be no one to take the throne." Merida figured out.

"It would be pure chaos if that happened." Carlos realized.

"I won't let it happen." Sinbad declared.

"Huh?" Audrey blinked in confusion.

"You'll die if you go back without the book, Sinbad." Roana told him.

"I know, but it's the only way." Sinbad said.

Hiccup wrapped his arms around Sinbad who's eyes widened at the gesture and returned the hug.

"Isn't there anything that we can do to stop you?" Hiccup asked.

Sinbad sighed heavily and pulled Hiccup at arms length.

"Sometimes we have to make sacrifices in order to make things right." Sinbad advised, "This is my decision, Hiccup. I won't let Eris's plan come true."

"I wish there was something that we could do." Hiccup wished.

"Then promise me this, Hiccup. Promise me that you'll be a great chief. One that outshines all of the others before you." Sinbad requested.

"I promise." Hiccup promised with tears in the corner of his eyes.

* * *

_The disc, being flat, has no real horizon. Any adventurous sailor who got funny ideas from staring at eggs and oranges for too long and set out for the antipodes soon learned that the reason why distant ships sometimes looked as though they were disappearing over the edge of the world was that they were disappearing over the edge of the world. _\- Terry Pratchett


	57. Sinbad's Choice

Chapter 57: Sinbad's Choice

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

Back at Syracuse, Proteus frowned at the setting sun on the day of his execution. As it began to dip down behind the horizon he stared at the chopping block on the deck. This was it. No sign of Sinbad, Marina, or the dragon riders. With the whole of Syracuse watching the prince stared down the axe and the wood that would end his life. He made a promise and he would never turn back on his word. If he was to die, it would be with honor. Making his decision, Proteus smoothed out his robes behind him so he could kneel. With his hands clenched at his sides he lowered down, resting his chin on the chopping block. He stared ahead at the water, keeping his face neutral. The ax raised in front of him, making a small metallic screech as it did. Just as the executioner began to lower the weapon, a knife swirled through the air, shattering the handle. Proteus' eyes snapped open and he felt his heart stop as the axe head thudded right in front of his nose. He stared wide eyed at his heaving reflection in the metal. Slowly raising his gaze, the prince grinned as a familiar face and his band of pirates pulled themselves up onto the dock along with the riders on their dragons, shocking everyone. Sinbad marched towards his friend who was gaping at him in shock.

"I bet you thought I wouldn't make it." Sinbad joked, clasping his friend's hand.

"I was…beginning to wonder," Proteus commented, nervously gripping his throat. He smiled, bringing his friend into a hug. Pulling out of it the prince's smile dimmed. "The book?" he asked. Sinbad shrugged, not letting his nervousness shine through.

"I did my best…it wasn't enough." He solemnly explained. Proteus' eyes widened.

"No, you came back anyway." He assured, clutching his friend's shoulder.

"How could I do anything else…my friend." Sinbad responded.

Proteus wrenched his eyes shut as he knew what would happen. However, Sinbad stared past his shoulder at Marina who was watching from beside his men. She stared at him sadly, unable to keep from shedding a tear or two. Sinbad painfully tore his gaze away and headed towards the chopping block, where the man held a sword this time. He slowly knelt and stared out at the ocean, knowing it would be the last time he did. Spike, realizing his owner's distress, began barking and tried to bolt but Marina held him back, clinging to him for comfort. The dragon riders wrapped their arms around their dragon's necks. The canine and dragons whimpered, while the rest of the crew stared at their captain in sorrow. Every muscle in their body protested letting their beloved captain sacrifice himself. They all wanted to stop him, but this is what he wanted. So they respected his wishes.

Sinbad clenched his fist, just as scared as anyone would be. He kept his gaze on the horizon, slowly willing himself to work through his emotional turmoil. Un-clenching his fist, he relaxed, resigned to his fate and placed his neck on the block. The executioner raised his sword up, aiming it so it would come down swiftly. Marina buried herself in Spike's neck and the riders buried their faces against their dragons' necks, not wanting to watch it happen. Sinbad closed his eyes and waited for the blow. As the sword was swung down, it broke into thousands of little pieces that remained midair around Sinbad's head. The crowd gasped at this along with the executioner. Sinbad opened one of his eyes and gasped in shock as he saw the floating pieces of metal. Sitting up he glanced around in confusion along with the rest of the crowd. Everyone watched in alarm as a giant storm cloud swirled just in front of the dock. The cloud created a tornado down into the water that swirled upwards within the wind. Out of the mixture a giant Eris emerged, glaring down at Sinbad distastefully.

"How dare you?!" Eris growled, getting her face into Sinbad's who flinched backwards. Sinbad backed up away from the giant goddess, staring at her in shock. "Everything was going perfectly, and now...you do this!" Eris snarled, swiping the chopping block into the sea below.

"Eris, I don't understand." Sinbad told her, confused.

"Don't play coy with me." She warned nudging him back with her fingers. Eris gripped the edges of the dock and leaned forward menacingly. "Maybe you can fool these people, but I know who you are. You're a selfish, unprincipled liar!" she glared. Sinbad's confusion cleared as he thought about why she was so angry.

"Wait a minute….I didn't lie…I came back." he realized with a grin. "That's why you're here, this is all part of your test. I told the truth." He continued smugly. Eris rolled her eyes in annoyance. "And wasn't there something about being "bound for all eternity"?" Sinbad asked pointedly while crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Eris straightened up, revealing the 'X' still marked on her collarbone. She growled, holding up a fist above him. The goddess brought it towards him a couple times, grunting in effort, obviously wanting very much to squash him. Everyone watched the two worriedly. With a reluctant sigh, Eris unfurled her fingers and held out the book of peace to Sinbad. He gently took it from her, running his fingers across the cover.

"Well, well, well, this has got to be a little embarrassing for you Eris." Sinbad looked up at her smugly as slightly tapping the book with his palm. She hummed.

"Don't push your luck Sinbad. You're cute, but not that cute." She mused in distaste. Sinbad watched as she morphed down to human size leaning up against him; he shifted uncomfortably as she did. "And lucky for you I've got places to go, things to destroy, stuff to steal." She explained, caressing his face before floating upwards. "Ta." She said before disappearing in a flash of black smoke.

Sinbad looked down at the book with a grin before smiling over at the crowd behind him. He gingerly reached for the edge and looked over to Proteus with a raised brow. The prince nodded in confirmation. Sinbad beamed as he opened the book and stared down at it in childlike wonder. He then lifted it up and braced himself as the light poured out of it, into the skies and breaking apart the clouds overhead. As the light returned it fixed all that it touched, spreading out across the kingdom and further across the land. Restoring it to its former glory.

Sinbad fell to his knees as the power cut off. He smiled while huffing for breath as Proteus approached with a wide grin. He held out a hand to help his friend up.

"You know for what it's worth, I think the council believes you now." Proteus grinned, as they glanced over at the gobsmacked senators that had sentenced him.

"Ya think." Sinbad chuckled in amusement. The shouts of cheering erupted as Sinbad walked the book back over to Dymas.

"King Dymas." He greeted. As the older man reached for the book Sinbad teasingly jerked it away. "Uh, whoa, hey. How much you got on you?" he asked. The king rolled his eyes at the man.

"I offer you the gratitude of the 12 cities and the apologies of a King." He told Sinbad sincerely. Sinbad chuckled.

"No, really. How much?" he asked again jokingly.

"Sinbad." Dymas scolded lightly. Sinbad shrugged impishly, handing the book over. Dymas nodded his head in gratitude towards Sinbad who returned the gesture. Then Dymas and the council headed back to the tower to put the book in its rightful place. As his father left Proteus grasped Sinbad on the shoulder.

"Come on, this is going to be a heck of a party. Everyone is going to want to hear about the voyage." Proteus insisted. At this Sinbad's grin dimmed.

"Fair winds, calm seas. Nothing much to tell." He shrugged off. Proteus stared at him incredulously.

"What's the matter? No fun if you're actually invited?" he chuckled. Sinbad frowned, glancing at Marina out of the corner of his eye.

"No its just,..uh…there's a hammock in Fiji with my name on it." He supplied instead with a strained grin. Proteus smiled reluctantly, knowing that it was just an excuse. He reached up and clasped Sinbad's hand tightly.

"Good sailing Sinbad." He muttered sincerely. Sinbad nodded and began making his way down the dock, but turned back briefly.

"Get a haircut. You're gonna be king someday." He pointed out with a grin, getting Proteus to chuckle in amusement at the teasing. Proteus watched his friend go down the dock, his gait not as chipper as he claimed to be. From behind he watched the crew say their goodbyes to Marina and the dragon riders, the former looking more torn up about it. Spike brushed up against her leg and whimpered as Marina gave him one last scratch. Once the men had turned their backs, she teared up and bolted back into the castle which confused Proteus.

* * *

_The greatest sacrifice is when you sacrifice your own happiness for the sake of someone else. - _Unknown


	58. Onto the Horizon

Chapter 58: Onto the Horizon

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

Down on the ship, Sinbad walked over and stared longingly at the castle, knowing who was inside of it. Kale made his way towards him with a sad smile.

"Captain.." he called gently. Sinbad hummed, not looking away.

"We're ready to sail." Kale informed him. Sinbad sighed, looking down quietly.

"Alright Kale, take us out." he ordered hollowly.

"Aye Aye captain. Cast off!" he shouted to the crew, who quickly ran about. Sinbad watched as they began sailing away from Syracuse, frowning sadly as the distance grew. Shaking himself out of it, he went about the ship, making his way to the front rigging. He hung casually on the ropes as he focused his attention on the open seas in front of him, just past the harbor. Sinbad grunted as a pile of rope fell on top of him.

"Oh...Rat!" he shouted irritably.

"What?" he called from behind. Sinbad furrowed his brows in confusion as he looked over at Rat who was on the other end of the ship with a mischievous looking crew. Then he noticed the dragon riders land on deck with their dragons who were also smirking. Sinbad eyed them, not sure what he was missing.

"Excuse me Captain, you need to replace these rig joints soon. The mizzen ropes need the support." A distinctly female voice called from the crow's nest. Sinbad stared up at her with wide eyes. Marina grinned down at him smugly, proud of the surprise. Sinbad grinned broadly.

"These joints are from the Jasmine Sea. That's halfway around the world." He called back.

"Well then we better get started." She mused. Sinbad smirked and sliced the rope he was holding, using it to pull himself to the top of the sails where she was.

"Well, you know, that means going through the Hydra's lair." Marina hummed in acknowledgment.

"The Minotaur's Haven." Continued, grinning in glee as she hummed along to every point he made.

"The cyclops' den. Under the Swansea bridge. And through the China seas." he finished, swinging around to get closer to her. Marina smiled up at him as he beamed.

"That's a very long voyage. And it's very, very dangerous." He hummed, leaning down toward her.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you." She smirked innocently.

Sinbad smiled as he pulled her to his chest. She smiled up at him once more before he pulled her in all the way for a loving kiss, which she eagerly returned. However, the moment was broken as a deep bark sounded, alerting them to the fact that Spike knew his second favorite person was there. The dog launched himself off his personal catapult, right into the smooching couple. Marina laughed loudly as Sinbad tried to calm his dog down, put out that his moment was ruined by his slobbering companion.

* * *

It was soon night time on the Chimera. Kale was at the helm, steering the ship. Hiccup and Roana were on the deck at the front of the ship. They were both looking up at the stars and couldn't help but be enchanted by them.

"It's almost hard to believe." Roana said.

"What is?" Hiccup asked.

"The adventure of helping Sinbad bring back the Book of Peace." Roana replied.

"Ah," Hiccup understood, "Well, when you're a dragon rider, unexpected things come your way."

"So basically, we'll get into any situation that we encounter whenever we come to a new place?" Roana questioned, teasing.

"Yes." Hiccup smiled and nodded.

Roana chuckled a little.

"Seems dangerous, yet thrilling at the same time," Roana responded, "But it also feels good that we were able to help that person with their situation."

"I can definitely agree to that." Hiccup stated.

Then a silence came between the two. The only sounds they could hear were the sounds of waves brushing against the ship. They liked this kind of silence, but at the same time they didn't.

"Hiccup...there's something I've been wanting to tell you." Roana admitted.

"What?" Hiccup asked, curious.

"Well," Roana blushed, "Ever since you and your friends came to stay in Rome...I've started to gain feelings towards you...romantic feelings."

"Huh?" Hiccup blinked.

"You're extraordinary, Hiccup. I've seen how intelligent you are, how friendly you're with dragons and people, and how you wouldn't hesitate to help someone in need," Roana told him, "Somehow during the time in Rome, you were able to capture my heart."

"I feel the same, Roana." Hiccup responded with a small blush on his cheeks which made Roana's eyes widened, "After I met you, the feelings I had towards Astrid faded away and they began to blossom...with you." Roana blushed into a deeper shade of red, "I know that you're a strong warrior and you won't let anyone tell you otherwise. You also have the heart of a good friend and won't hesitate to fight for what you believe in. Somehow, you were also able to capture my heart as well."

The two smiled softly at each other.

"So would you-" Roana started.

"Yes, I would love to be your boyfriend." Hiccup interrupted.

Roana blushed even harder at Hiccup's answer. She never expected that he would accept her feelings towards him on the spot.

"Just to let you know, you're my first boyfriend." Roana confessed.

"You're also my first girlfriend as well." Hiccup admitted.

Hiccup and Roana smiled at each other and closed their eyes as they leaned closer to each other. Then their lips finally connected as Hiccup wrapped his right arm around Roana's waist as she wrapped her left arm around Hiccup's neck. The two had waited so long to tell each other's feelings and now they were finally revealed and the two were happy beyond anything. They didn't know what would happen with their new relationship, but it would be quite an adventure to find out.

* * *

_That person who enters your life out of nowhere, and suddenly means the world to you._ \- Unknown


	59. The Slave Ship

Chapter 59: The Slave Ship

A/N:

'**Dragons**' - Dragonese

* * *

It had already been a week since Sinbad's crew and the dragon riders had left Syracuse. At the moment, they were looking for the tropical island of Fiji. But something caught their eyes. Out in the distance, Hiccup and Roana spotted a ship.

"Sinbad, do you know who that ship is?" Hiccup asked, pointing at the ship.

"I'm afraid that I do, Hiccup." Sinbad answered when he saw it, "It's the Vermiculo, a slave ship."

"The Vermiculo?" Carlos asked.

"It's a slave ship. They capture people or animals and steal treasures to sell at the highest bidder." Kale explained.

"How horrible." Roana gasped.

"Can't we help the prisoners?" Hiccup questioned.

"I'm not sure that that's a good idea, Hiccup." Kale answered.

"Why?" Hiccup asked.

"From what I've heard, the warriors, known as the Sombras, on that ship are very ruthless and very skilled." Kale replied.

"So you're saying that they're more skilled than you all?"

"Precisely."

"Yikes."

"So what can we do?"

"I'm afraid that we'll just have to avoid being seen." Sinbad suggested.

"I guess so." Hiccup responded.

Suddenly they all heard a roar, followed by a few more.

"What was that?" Marina asked.

"It's a dragon's roar," Hiccup replied, "They're in distress."

"Where's it coming from?" Audrey questioned.

At that moment, Sharpshot appeared and landed on Hiccup's shoulder.

"What is it, Sharpshot?" Hiccup asked.

"**Those dragons' roars. It's coming from that ship.**" Sharpshot warbled.

"Are you sure?"

"**Positive.**"

"What did Sharpshot say?" Roana asked.

"He said that those roars are coming from the Vermiculo." Hiccup replied.

"Are you sure?" Carlos asked.

"Yeah." Hiccup nodded, staring at the ship in the distance.

"No." Sinbad responded.

"What?" Merida turned to Sinbad.

"No, we're not going on that ship." Sinbad declared.

"We didn't even _say_ anything." Carlos stated.

"I could easily tell by the looks on your faces that you were thinking of doing so." Sinbad said.

"So very true." Hiccup agreed, "But we have to sneak onto that ship, Sinbad."

"And why would we risk our very lives to go on that ship?" Sinbad questioned, pointing at the Vermiculo.

"Those dragons. We have to free them or else they'll be sold to Drago's army." Hiccup explained, "Not to mention the prisoners. Who knows what horrors they're experiencing on that ship."

"Did you forget about the Sombras?" Sinbad's brow arched.

"No, but if no one is willing to go, then I'll save them myself if I hate to." Hiccup declared.

"Are you crazy?! Going against the Sombras is instant death!" Rat reasoned in a panic.

"I'm willing to take that risk. Those dragons _can't_ go to Drago." Hiccup stated.

"I've met crazy. But _you,_ boy, are _crazier_!" Rat ranted, pointing at Hiccup.

"If Drago gets more dragons, his dragon army will be even larger and more deadly." Hiccup pleaded to Sinbad.

Sinbad glanced at the dragon riders and turned away, only to see his crew and Marina having the same looks as the dragon riders. He rolled his eyes and sighed in frustration.

"Alright fine!" Sinbad huffed while he waved his arms in the air, giving in. Then he pointed at Hiccup, "But if we die, I'm haunting you in the next life!"

"Thank you, Sinbad." Hiccup thanked him.

"So what's the plan?" Sinbad asked Hiccup.

"We'll need a distraction for those on the top deck and knock them out. We get on board and try to find the prisoners and dragons. Then free them." Hiccup planned and then turned to Jed, "Jed, do you happen to have any knock out gas?"

"As a matter of fact I do." Jed replied.

"Good, we're going to need a lot of it if we want to get on board." Hiccup said.

Then Hiccup explained to the others of the plan and some of the crew were nervous, but Hiccup assured them if they do everything according to plan, they will succeed. Sinbad and Marina had to agree to that.

"We're going to have to be careful when we go on that ship." Sinbad warned.

"Let's hope that plan works." Marina prayed.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside of three prison cells with two occupants each. The first occupant of the first cell had a boy around 18 years old. He had short black hair that was slightly dirty from being in the cell and had dark red eyes. The boy's name was Jabare, third heir to the throne of Egypt. The second occupant was a pale pink colored dragon that had the similar figure to a Night Fury. Its scales were pale pink with black stripes and spines along the edges of its wings. This dragon was known as the Desert Wraith, a relative to the Sand Wraith. Jabare stared at the pale pink dragon that rested in the corner of the cell. For some strange reason, he saw pain and loneliness in its eyes. He somehow could relate to the dragon. He and his relatives were going to be sold off by his uncle, Bayhas, who had wanted the throne to the kingdom. He was somewhat scared of what was going to happen to him and his older brother and sister who were in a cell across from him.

The second cell had a girl of dirty short white hair and dark greenish brown eyes. She was 17 years old. The girl's name was Najila. The second occupant of the cell was a dark red dragon. The dragon had dark red scales with a black underbelly and white stripes on its wings, back, and tail. The dragon was known as the Dramillion. Najila stared at the dark red dragon that was in the cell with her. She could tell by its yellow reptilian eyes that it was scared. It was probably wondering what it was doing here and when it was going home. Najila couldn't help but think of her own home. Even though her father sold her for money, she still missed Aladdin who was like an older brother to her. She wondered how he was doing. She had a pretty good guess that he was causing trouble while trying to get food. She chuckled at that.

The third cell had another boy who was the same age as Jabare. The boy's name was Touma Koizumi. He had long black hair tied in a high ponytail and bright blue eyes. The second occupant of the cell was a blue dragon with a white underbelly that had a long snake body. Its front and back legs were colored black and had a mane of hair that started from the head and ended at the tail. It had two long black horns on its head and two white long whisker-like appendages attached at his snout. Its eyes were light blue with reptilian black slit orbs. Touma was always thinking about his father who he was traveling with when the Sombras ambushed them. Even though he and his father were skilled warriors, they were no match for them. So his father had to let them take their treasures or Touma would be killed. However they took Touma instead of giving him back to his father. He swore that if he got out, he would make those Sombras pay for taking him.

* * *

Touma, Najila, and Jabare were afraid of what was going to happen to them. But they had to have hope when others would believe that there is none. They kept on praying that someone or something would come and save them from this horrible nightmare. Suddenly they heard footsteps coming from the doorway. They knew it was one of the guards coming to check in on them. But then they heard a thud a second later. A few more footsteps came in and they were able to get a glimpse of who was in front of their cells. It was a boy who looked to be around their age. He had short auburn hair and forest green eyes. He wore a strange set of clothing. The second person was a boy around the same age as the auburn one. There were also three other girls with them. One had frizzly red hair, the second had long black hair, and the third one had long dark brown hair. They all wore different kinds of clothing.

"Who are you?" Touma whispered.

"Don't worry, we're here to get you all out." The auburn haired boy whispered.

"But who are you?" Jabare asked.

"Hiccup. My friends and I are here to help you." 'Hiccup' declared.

"Really?" Najila asked with hope in her eyes.

"Of course. Just hang on a second." Hiccup said as he took out a tool from his belt and began to unlock the cell. Soon enough, all of the prisoners were set free and they quietly left the prison cells. Then they met his other comrades in the room.

"So, who are you?" Hiccup asked.

"I'm Najila."

"I'm Touma."

"I'm Jabare and who are you four?" Jabare questioned.

"Roana."

"Merida."

"Audrey."

"Carlos."

"Pleasure to meet you all." Najila greeted.

"Us too." Roana agreed.

"So how are we going to get out of here?" Jabare asked.

"Well, we need to get more weapons on our hands." Hiccup declared.

"I know where the weapons room is. I saw it when they were about to put me in the cells." Touma informed.

"Good idea." Hiccup agreed.

"But what about the dragons?" Audrey pointed out.

Everyone turned to the three dragons who were still in their cells. They haven't moved from them. Hiccup decided to walk towards them. However, they growled at him. But he wasn't afraid of them. Sharpshot appeared from his shoulder and flew over to the dragons.

"**Don't be afraid. Hiccup means no harm towards you three.**" Sharpshot warbled.

"**He's a human. All humans are bad.**" The Desert Wraith growled.

"**You're his servant, aren't you?**" Dramillion grunted.

"**No, I'm his friend. He saved me when I was captured and we've been friends since then.**" Sharpshot grunted.

The three dragons stared at Sharpshot and then turned to Hiccup and back to Sharpshot.

"**He won't harm us, right?**" The blue dragon warbled.

"**None of these humans will. I promise.**" Sharpshot warbled.

"**You have my word.**" Hiccup promised.

"**You can speak our language?**" The Desert Wraith asked.

"**Yes, but that's not important right now. Right now we have to focus on getting out of here.**" Hiccup told the dragons.

The dragons looked at Hiccup for a moment and then walked out of their cells.

"**So will you help us in our plan?**" Hiccup asked.

"**We will. Those men will pay for capturing us.**" The Desert Wraith warbled.

Soon enough, all of the prisoners were set free and they quietly left the prison cells. They met up with Sinbad, Marina, and Kale. Then the group went into the hallway to find the room full of weapons. Soon enough, they arrived at it and Hiccup was easily able to open the door. Everyone quickly got their weapons.

"Okay, everyone. Let's win this battle against the Sombras. We're gonna make sure that they don't imprison another life ever again." Hiccup declared.

Everyone nodded their heads. They soon walked down the hallway and exited out to the deck. But when they got there, they were surprised to see the Sombras. In the front of the Sombras was a man who seemed to be the leader of the Sombras. The man was about the same age as Sinbad. He had long black hair tied up in a top knot, a mustache, and green eyes. He also wore foreign clothes that seemed to be a lot different from what he and his friends wore.

"Well, well, well. I can't believe it. A bunch of mice were able to sneak into the lion's den. So brave, _yet_ so foolish. To come aboard my ship, you must be wanting a simple death wish." The leader taunted.

"Who are you?" Hiccup asked.

"The name's Sigewulf. I must applaud you for sneaking onto my ship. No one has been brave enough to do that." 'Sigewulf' complimented, mockingly.

"I suppose that's a compliment?" Hiccup's brow arched.

"Indeed. However,...you won't be getting off this ship _alive_." Sigewulf declared, narrowing his eyes at the group in front of him.

"We'll see about that." Jabare denied.

Then the two sides clashed. Jabare, Hiccup, and Touma were fighting against the leader while everyone else and the dragons were fighting against the Sombras. The fight started to dwindle the Sombras's numbers until only Sigewulf was left who was still fighting against Hiccup, Touma, and Jabare. Then Sinbad joined as well. They kept on fighting until Hiccup quickly dodged as Sinbad attacked Sigewulf which distracted him and Hiccup swung his legs towards Sigewulf's, causing him to fall on his back. Before he could get up, blades surrounded him.

"Surrender." Touma ordered.

Seeing that he was outnumbered and outmatched, Sigewulf gave in. But as soon as he stood up, he lunged towards Hiccup, only to be stabbed in the back, literally, by Kale. The others stepped back as Kale took out his sword from Sigewulf's back and let his body fall onto the floor. The leader of the Sombras was dead and the prisoners of the Vermiculo were finally free.

* * *

Morning soon broke from the Slave ship. The life boats that were filled with the Sombras and the Vermiculo crew were drifting away from the ship. The other dragons that were on board were flying away, trying to find a new place to call home. However, only three dragons remained; the Desert Wraith, the Dramillion, and the blue dragon stayed. Marina, Sinbad, and his crew were celebrating their victory with the former prisoners.

"Thank you for helping us." Jabare thanked him.

"You're welcome. We were glad to have helped." Hiccup stated and glanced at the Desert Wraith next to Jabare, "So what are you going to name him?"

"I'll name him, Horus, after the 'Sky God'." Jabare decided, petting the dragon's head.

"What about you, Najila?" Roana asked.

"I was thinking, Lihini. It means 'red skinned'." Najila replied, petting the red Dramillion's scales.

"And you, Touma?" Carlos asked.

"Mosu." Touma declared, petting the blue dragon's snout, "Ignite."

"They're all good names to me." Audrey commented.

"I think we can all agree to that." Touma stated.

"So where are you all going to do now?" Merida asked.

"Well, I got nothing else to do. But I want to return home and let my friend know that I'm okay." Najila replied.

"I have to return to my home in Japan. My parents are probably very worried about me." Touma added.

"My siblings and I have to return home. My uncle, Bayhas, is sitting on the throne that he doesn't deserve to sit on." Jabare stated, "He must be stopped."

"Then we'll help you." Hiccup confirmed.

"Hiccup, you don't have to. This is my family's problem. We have to do this alone." Jabare protested.

"Sorry, but we're going to help you. Whenever someone is in trouble, we are going to help them." Hiccup argued.

"We're not taking 'no' for an answer." Roana added, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Jabare sighed at this. He didn't think that the dragon riders would be this stubborn. But he supposes he owed them for helping everyone escape that slave ship.

"Alright then. Let's head to Egypt." Jabare declared.

* * *

_Hope is being able to see that there is a light despite all the darkness. _\- Desmond Tutu

* * *

**A/N:**

Vermiculo - Crimson

Sombras - Shades

Sigewulf - Victorious Wolf


End file.
